Reading And Answering assignment

Phosphogypsum is a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer mining business — a major industry in the state of Florida. Phyosphogypsum is accumulating at multiple waste sites in around the state. The industry would like to put their phosphogypsum to use by incorporating it into various building materials, thus ridding themselves of the waste and potentially turning a profit on its sale. Recently, the EPA approved the use of phosphogypsum-containing materials in road construction. The decision is controversial because phosphogypsum contains radium, which means it will release radon into the air. The question is whether it will release enough radon to pose a health threat to humans. Read the following two articles and answer the questions below.

Q1: Suppose a new road surface material is invented that uses phosphogypsum as a major component, such that it contains a radium-226 concentration of approximately 200 Bq/kg. The manufacturer claims its new product is stronger than concrete and has the porosity of a typical brick (about 55%). What would be the approximate exhalation rate of radon-222 be from this novel material (in Bq m-2 h-1)?

Q2: How does the new product’s radon-222 exhalation rate compare to the radon exhalation of typical concrete?

Q3: Supposed a home builder mistakenly uses the phosphogypsum road product, thinking it’s ordinary concrete, to pour the basement foundation of a new home. Would the home be safe to live in?

[Note: You need no other information than what you’ve read in the two articles above, to answer these questions.]

please try answering the questions from your own words and don’t just copy from the articles even citation doesn’t work. my professor want you to paraphrase not just copy from the article.