Re: Article: Radiation in Water Stumps Experts

[Ted de Castro <tdc@XRAYTED.COM>]

One project being carried on by LBNL and others is monitoring the Radon

levels in wells as an indicator tectonic strain and thus a predictor of

earth quakes - so maybe there really is a problem ...... coming!



"Barry E. Muller" wrote:

> 

> Most likely Rn-222 which has (had?) a limit of 10,000 pCi/L in

> groundwater.  Because of the short half-life of Rn-222 any changes in

> secondary porosity (think folding and/or faulting) may increase flow

> rates and allow water with higher levels of Rn-222 to get into the

> wells.  This possible interpretation would be consistent with findings

> from my research on Rn-222 from groundwater from the Ohio Shale (from

> 10-years ago) and adjacent formations and other folk's work on the

> Marcellus Needmore shale in New York state.

> 

> If memory serves they shouldn't have any concern of reaching the 4

> pCi/L indoor air concentrations from cooking or showering until they

> get to 1-2,000 pCi/L in groundwater.

> 

> bem

> 

> John Jacobus wrote:

> 

> > This appeared in today's Washington Post.  I wonder

> > how expert their experts are.

> >

> > I would say government officials are not providing any

> > service to the public by not quickly determining what

> > the problem is, if there really is a problem.

> >

> > ----------------------------------

> > Radiation in Water Stumps Experts

> >

> >  By Joshua Partlow

> >

> >   On the surface, only a smattering of out-of-season

> > Christmas decorations call attention to Chapel Point

> > Woods, a 95-home subdivision tucked amid the oak trees

> > of Southern Maryland.

> >

> >  But 700 feet below ground, something more unusual has

> > captured the homeowners' attention. Four months have

> > passed since they were told that elevated levels of

> > radiation -- about three times above federal standards

> > -- were detected in their water system, which comes

> > from three wells in the Patapsco aquifer.

> >

> >  "In 1992, the average [radiation] level was 8. In

> > 1999, [it] was 8 again. Last year, it was 43," said

> > Richard McIntire, a spokesman for the Maryland

> > Department of the Environment. "We don't understand

> > why we saw the levels increase so dramatically. . . .

> > This is a bona-fide mystery."

> >

> >  The elevated levels were found during routine

> > water-quality tests of the well system, which is run

> > by Charles County. In September, the state issued a

> > notice of violation to the county for exceeding the

> > federal threshold of 15 picocuries per liter of gross

> > alpha radiation, McIntire said.

> >

> >  He said the Chapel Point Woods system had tested at

> > 43 pCi/l and above for four consecutive quarters,

> > going back to 2002. Before then, the levels had held

> > steady -- well below the safe standard -- since the

> > wells were put in roughly 15 years ago.

> >

> >  The water in Charles County comes primarily from

> > private and public well systems drilled into area

> > aquifers. The Patapsco aquifer extends for miles

> > beneath the Washington region and is widely siphoned

> > by wells in Anne Arundel and Charles counties, and to

> > a lesser extent in Prince George's and St. Mary's.

> >

> >  The Patapsco is the second-deepest aquifer in

> > Southern Maryland and its waters are thousands of

> > years old, according to geologists. The well system in

> > Chapel Point Woods, which can pump up to 24,000

> > gallons a day, is confined to that subdivision, and no

> > other water systems in the area have shown elevated

> > radiation levels, state and county officials said.

> >

> >  While water-quality testing continues, some

> > subdivision residents are angry that they have not

> > been given definitive information about whether to

> > stop drinking the water or take other precautions.

> >

> >  "I've never been as sick as I have been since I moved

> > here" four years ago, said Sherri Ingagliato, 38, who

> > runs a day-care business out of her home. "I'm always

> > tired, sick to my stomach, I have headaches. I'm

> > not trying to say it's all because of the radiation.

> > But I worry."

> >

> >  Radiation can come from several sources, both natural

> > and man-made, and long-term exposure can cause cancer.

> > In the late 1990s, hundreds of wells in Anne Arundel

> > County were found to have elevated levels of radium, a

> > radioactive element that occurs in trace amounts in

> > rock and soil.

> >

> >  The levels of radium detected in Chapel Point Woods

> > are not abnormal, officials said. Tests for uranium

> > also came back negative.

> >

> >  "I kind of scratched my head at this," said David

> > Bolton, chief of hydrogeology at the Maryland

> > Geological Survey, who reviewed the Department of the

> > Environment data. "It did not look consistent with

> > naturally occurring radium that was found in Anne

> > Arundel."

> >

> >  Gary Felton, a water quality specialist at the

> > University of Maryland, said the breakdown of

> > radioactive materials in the ground is usually

> > consistent from year to year. So to him, a sharp rise

> > in radiation implies some sort of radioactive

> > pollutant. "Something obviously caused it. And I would

> > have a hard time believing that this is a naturally

> > occurring variance," he said. "When you get unusual

> > spikes, that makes me think there's something man-made

> > going on."

> >

> >  Others said they consider that scenario unlikely

> > because the Chapel Point Woods wells descend hundreds

> > of feet into the aquifer and the water is contained in

> > thick confining walls. "I would really doubt if it was

> >

> > anything man-made," Bolton said.

> >

> >  Some speculate that a sudden change in the geology or

> > the source of water feeding the Patapsco aquifer could

> > have added sources of naturally occurring radiation.

> >

> >  Another factor to consider, officials say, are recent

> > changes in water sampling. In 2001, the Environmental

> > Protection Agency adopted regulations to implement a

> > threshold level for uranium, as well as to alter how

> > water is sampled. In Chapel Point Woods, this meant no

> > longer testing water from individual homes but at the

> > treatment plant before it is distributed, state

> > officials said.

> >

> >  The change adds uncertainty to the findings, said

> > Alice Mignerey, a professor of nuclear chemistry at

> > the University of Maryland who was consulted about the

> > situation.

> >

> >  "The key is that we don't really know how recent the

> > problem is because they changed" testing procedures,

> > she said. "It's now unclear whether this is a new

> > occurrence or something that's been happening for a

> > long time. . . . This is weird."

> >

> >  While authorities continue to investigate, some

> > homeowners have become increasingly concerned. Miriam

> > Bois, 43, a clinical social worker, said her family

> > has stopped drinking or cooking with tap water since

> > she found out about the problem in October. She said

> > the family, with two daughters ages 14 and 11, goes

> > through two cases of bottled water and a 2.5-gallon

> > jug in the refrigerator every week.

> >

> >  "It's irritating that they haven't told us to stop

> > drinking the water. It's not like we're blaming them

> > for having radiation in our water," she said. "I'm

> > very frustrated that they're not being responsible for

> > our health."

> >

> >  Department of the Environment officials plan to send

> > a letter this week to Charles County outlining the

> > possible methods for cleaning Chapel Point Woods'

> > water supply.

> >

> >  Among the possibilities are drilling a new well or

> > installing a reverse osmosis filtration system to

> > clean the water. Both approaches are costly, but

> > county officials say they are committed to solving the

> >

> > problem.

> >

> >  "I think the remedies would be hundreds of thousands

> > of dollars. But even that is not going to stop us,"

> > said Murray D. Levy (D-At Large), president of the

> > Charles County Commissioners.

> >

> > Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to

> >

> > http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-yn/admin/emailfri

> > nd?contentId=A22225-2004Feb7&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle

> >

> >

> > © 2004 The Washington Post Company

> >

> > =====

> > +++++++++++++++++++

> > "The care of human life and happiness . . . is the first and only

> > legitimate object of good government."

> > Thomas Jefferson

> >

> > -- John

> > John Jacobus, MS

> > Certified Health Physicist

> > e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com

> >

> > __________________________________

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