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Re: Water from private wells poses risk of radiation
Radon is chemically an inert gas. What other "form" can it exist in at
ambient temperature and pressure?
Ruth Weiner
ruth_weiner@msn.com
-----Original Message-----
From: goldinem@songs.sce.com <goldinem@songs.sce.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Date: Thursday, January 11, 2001 8:46 AM
Subject: Water from private wells poses risk of radiation
>Caught this in a news-service. Interesting comment at the end. If radon
>is "more carcinogenic in gas form," why would they recommend driving it out
>of the water into the air? Too bad there isn't some comparitive risk
>noted.
>
>
>
> Water from private wells poses risk of radiation
> Mark Henderson
>
> 01/10/2001
> The Times of London News International
> 2W
> Page 12
> (Copyright Times Newspapers Ltd, 2001)
>
>
> PEOPLE who drink water from private wells, springs or boreholes may
> be at risk from unsafe levels of radon and uranium.
>
>
> Ministers have asked all local authorities to test private water
> supplies for the radioactive elements after research in West Devon
> found that one in seven wells contained concentrations that exceeded
> safety limits. The study, carried out by the British Geological
> Survey for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the
> Regions, found that 15 per cent of private water sources in West
> Devon contained too much radon, while 7 per cent exceeded safe
> uranium levels.
>
>
> In the worst case, scientists measured a radon level of 5,341
> becquerels per litre, more than five times the advisory level of
> 1,000 set by the National Radiological Protection Board. Two firms in
> the area that sell bottled spring water are within safety limits.
>
>
> Private water supplies in other areas where high levels of radon gas
> have been detected, such as parts of Derbyshire, Cornwall and
> Northamptonshire, might also be affected, environment officials said.
> There are no such problems with piped drinking water supplied by
> utility companies.
>
>
> Radon, thought to be the more dangerous of the two elements, has been
> linked to a higher risk of stomach cancer when found in drinking
> water, and radon gas is known to cause about 2,000 deaths in Britain
> from lung cancer every year. Radon is less carcinogenic when
> dissolved in water than in gas form.
>
>
> The gas, which originates from decaying uranium, is found at trace
> levels in all sorts of rocks and environments. Some types of rock,
> such as granite, hold higher concentrations of the gas, leading to
> clusters of high exposure. Uranium has been linked to kidney disease
> at levels much higher than those found in West Devon. Though
> scientists say that the risk from dissolved radon is slight, the
> Environment Department has suggested to councils that the Devon
> findings are "unlikely to be unique", and reminded them of their
> statutory duty to maintain the wholesomeness of private water
> supplies.
>
>
> Any householder with a well who is concerned about radon levels can
> contact their council, who will be obliged to test the water, a
> spokeswoman said. Radon can be removed from water with devices that
> filter it with air bubbles.
>
>
> LINKS
>
>
> www.nrpb.org.uk/Radnmap.htm
>
>
> National Radiological Protection Board maps of radon exposure
>
>
> www.environment.detr.gov.uk/radioactivity/research/complete/
> index.htm
>
>
> DETR radiation reports, including West Devon study
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Eric M. Goldin, CHP
><goldinem@songs.sce.com>
>
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