Radon Levels Found in Mines in New York State (1954)

This article reports a survey of radioactive gas in the air of underground workplaces in New York State. It is about radon, not asbestos. The author sampled operating mines (including iron, talc, hematite and zinc mines), an abandoned iron mine and a sight-seeing cavern. None of these sites was linked to any known uranium deposit, and they ranged from 35 feet to more than 2,000 feet deep. Radon was measured directly in one-liter glass flasks. It was also estimated from radon decay products collected on filter paper. The author reported that radon in a stated concentration range was present in most places sampled, but the powers of ten in that range cannot be read in the scanned text. Levels appeared highest where the surrounding ore body was small, and the deepest mine did not have the highest level. Filter-paper estimates agreed reasonably well with the flask measurements. The author concluded that the permissible limit then in use may be exceeded underground because of naturally occurring radioactive material, possibly a significant hazard, and that standards needed re-evaluation. The author noted that thoron was not fully ruled out.

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From J-M's medical library

This copy comes from the Johns-Manville medical library. It was among the papers J-M kept in its medical library without an index entry.