POTENTIAL FOR ION-INDUCED NUCLEATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS BYRADON DECAY IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

The theoretical potential for the formation of clusters of vapor-phase organic compounds found in indoor air around the (PoOx+)-Po-218 ion w as investigated as well as which compounds were most likely to form cl usters. A compilation or measurements of indoor organic compounds has been made for future experiments and theoretical calculations by the r adon research community. Forty-four volatile and semivolatile organic compounds out of the more than 300 that have been reported in indoor a ir were investigated. Water vapor was included for comparison. The res ults indicate that there is a potential for the formation of clusters of organic compounds around the (PoOx+)-Po-218 ion. The compounds with the greatest potential for cluster formation are the volatile oxidize d hydrocarbons (e.g., n-butanol, phenol, hexanal, nonanal, benzaldehyd e, the ketones, and the acetates) and the semivolatile organic compoun ds (pentachlorophenol, nicotine, chlordane, chlorpyrifos). Although th e estimated diameters are consistent with the measured diameters for t he ''unattached'' fraction, the state of experimental and theoretical knowledge in this area is not sufficiently developed to judge the quan titative validity of these predictions.