Radon Series: What is Radon?

Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from Radium in the soil. It is a noble gas, which means that it does not interact with any other elements. This means that it is free to move through the ground, which is why it easily gets into your house. 

A house is like a big vacuum cleaner. As the warm air rises through the house and rises through the roof there must be make-up air. Air will be pulled in, in order to replace the escaping air. It pulls the air in from the bottom. So, as negative pressure is developed at the bottom of the house, it pulls in the soil gas. If there is Radon in that soil gas, it will be pulled into the home.