{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.023540489642184557, 'fraction_numerical': 0.009416195856873822, 'mean_word_length': 5.074285714285714, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Radon entry into houses: the importance of scale-dependent permeability.

Soil permeability to air can increase substantially with measurement length scale. We tested the hypothesis that the scale effect could resolve large model underpredictions of radon and soil-gas entry into two experimental basement structures located in natural sandy-loam soil at a field site in Ben Lomond, CA. Previously, the model input for permeability at the site had been assessed based on 0.5-m scale measurements. After determining the soil-structure interaction scale (system scale) to be approximately 3 m, the model input was changed to reflect 3-m scale permeability measurements. This adjustment reduced unacceptably large model underpredictions, of a factor of 3 to 5, to a range near that of acceptable experimental error, 20 to 40%. The permeability scale effect may explain large and persistent model underestimates of radon entry into real houses. The results argue strongly for determining permeability at a length scale consistent with that of the system under study.