‘Bengaluru outskirts have high levels of radioactive radon in groundwater’: IISc

• Indian Institute of Science (IISc) researchers have found hazardous radioactive radon to be present in air and water in the outskirts of Bengaluru.
• Radon is found to be 50 to 100 times the permissible limit of 11.1 Bq per litre as per initial studies by the researchers.
• This radon emanates from radioactive granites. Radon when ingested over an extended period can increase the risk of lung cancer.

About Radon

• Radon is an odorless, inert, invisible, radioactive gas and naturally released from rocks, soil and water.
• Radon derives naturally from uranium through radioactive transformation, as it undergoes radium decay before it is transformed into a chemically reactive atom.
• Presence of radon in air and water leads to damage of lung tissues, threatening cancer of the lungs while presence of uranium affects the urinary tract, leading to kidney cancer etc.