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RE: Uranium in GW correlations w/ Radon, etc.
Eric:
I don't have a phone number, but check the U of Nebraska website for a Professor Roy F. Spalding in the Conservation and Survey Division. Dr. Spalding has a lot of studies that correlate U and Ra in groundwater and runoff (e.g. river) water. I have a few of his studies, but they are at home. I'll try to find them for you. From what I remember, you are correct that concentrations vary dramatically based on local geology. Also, if I remember correctly, Uranium in a geological formation is usually insoluble, but the act of creating a well causes oxidation of it, and it becomes soluble. However, it could be Ra that does this, as I just remember that U and Ra tend to behave the opposite of each other with regards to well and runoff waters.
You won't see much radon in groundwater, because being a noble gas, it does not "dissolve" in water. It just migrates in and out of the water depending on pressure conditions. Radon in water will contribute to home activity levels, because what little is in the water will move from the higher pressure area of the water, to the lower pressure of air - as the water is exposed to air ,e.g. a shower. If you are proposing to do a standard home radon test, it will not correlate with how much Uranium or Radium is in the well water, because there will likely be a much larger source of Radon around the home which will drown out the little activity coming from water. You could do a Radon analysis of a water sample, such as with a proportional counter or liquid scintillation - but this is costly and all sorts of error can be introduced if the sample is not handled correctly. Using the same sample, it would much easier to look for the U/Ra directly via alpha/beta counting - but again c!
ostly and time consuming.
Often a solution presented for high U/Ra activities in well water is to filter the water. Most home filtration systems do a pretty good job of filtering them out. Unfortunately, this is countered by the fact that you can end up with a "hot" filter, and what do you do with that?
As you analyze your problem, be sure to determine, and factor in, if the U or Ra is in a form that humans will take up via oral ingestion. A Radsafer not long ago posted a nice summation of uptake values, and hopefully could post it again. You may find that the uptake is so small, that even the higher levels of U or Ra really pose no toxicity risk.
Larry Grimm, Senior HP
UCLA EH&S/ Radiation Safety Division
* lgrimm@admin.ucla.edu
* Phone: (310) 206-0712 Fax: (310) 206-9051 Cell: (310) 863-5556
* On Campus Mail: 501 Westwood Plaza, 4th Floor, MS 951605
* Off Campus Mail: UCLA Radiation Safety Div, 501 Westwood Plaza 4th Fl, Box 951605, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1605
* If this email is not RSD business, the opinions are mine, not UCLA's.
-----Original Message-----
From: Frohmberg, Eric [mailto:Eric.Frohmberg@maine.gov]
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 1:11 PM
To: Radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
Subject: Uranium in GW correlations w/ Radon, etc.
Hey all,
I'm a toxicologist with the Env. Tox. Program in the Maine Bur. of Health. In Maine we have a problem with U in well water - not a horrible problem overall - maybe a few percent of wells above 20-30 ug/l, but what makes my palms sweat is the occasional wells in the 2,000+ ppb range. We know that kidney tox is the issue (altho you do get some cancer risk at these high concentrations - especially when you take into account disequilibrium). (Obviously, we tell them to take corrective actions).
But what I want to look into is correlations between U and radon or radium in well water (I should say this is a little bit academic - we have a radon issue in Maine as well - our recommendation is that everyone do a radon test, there doesn't seem to be a lot of radium in wellwater in Maine). While I'm waiting for our in house data to appear, I thought I'd ask the collective wisdom in radsafe land. I haven't found a lot in the literature that suggests decent correlations (it really seems to depend a lot on local geology, etc.). Do any of you have any direct experience or opinions? In particular, I'm more interested in correlations between U and radium in GW at these higher levels. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Eric
Eric Frohmberg
Toxicologist
Key Plaza, 8th Floor
11 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0011
Tel: (207) 287-8141
FAX: (207) 287-3981
TTY: (207) 287-8066
eric.frohmberg@state.me.us
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