April 9, 2009

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck central Italy on Monday morning. The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake caused serious damage to several medieval towns in the region, killing over 260 residents, injuring over 1,000 and leaving more than 28,000 homeless.

Gioacchino Giuliani, An Italian scientist predicted a major earthquake weeks before disasterous event occurred, by measuring radon. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is one of the heaviest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions and is considered to be a health hazard.

Giuliani lives in L'Aquila and developed his findings while working at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (Gran Sasso National Laboratory) in the surrounding Abruzzo region.

Learn more about radon and earthquakes by clicking the following links:

Can radon gas leaks predict earthquakes? -by Staff Writer Peter N. Spotts and Correspondent Anna Momigliano, The Christian Science Monitor

Italy muzzled scientist who predicted quake -from Reuters UK

Scientist Smackdown: Did a Seismologist Accurately Predict the Italian Quake? -from Discover-Science, Technology and the Future

Italian scientist seeks apology after earthquake warnings brushed aside -by Gavin Jones, Reuters (Canada.com)

Italy 'Dismissed Expert's Quake Warning' -reported by Nick Pisa in Rome (Sky News)

Radon -U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Gran Sasso National Laboratory