[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Waterborne radon
This announcement from the EPA may be of interest:
The Administrator signed the proposed radon in drinking water rule today
(October 19, 1999).
A pre-publication copy of the proposed rule will be available soon (by
tomorrow morning) on EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water web
page, along with fact sheets and more information:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/radon.html. Or you may call the Safe Drinking
Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
Below is EPA's press release:
EPA PROPOSES NEW STANDARDS TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH
FROM RADON IN DRINKING WATER AND INDOOR AIR
EPA today is proposing new public health standards to protect the public
from exposure
to radon in drinking water. The proposal provides states with flexibility
in how to limit the public*s exposure to radon by allowing states to focus
their efforts on the greatest public health risks from radon*those in
indoor air*while also reducing the risks from radon in drinking water.
Radon can be found in ground water sources of drinking water (rather than
surface waters, such as rivers, lakes and streams) in some parts of the
United States. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive breakdown
product of uranium that can dissolve and accumulate in ground water.
However, the primary source of human exposure to radon is breathing radon
in indoor air of homes; radon can enter indoor air from soil under
foundations. Most of the risk from radon in drinking water (nearly 90
percent) comes from breathing radon released to indoor air from household
water uses. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United
States, after smoking.
Today*s proposal would provide two options to states and water systems
for reducing public health risks from radon in both drinking water and
indoor air, a unique multimedia framework authorized and outlined in the
l996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Under the first option, states can choose to develop enhanced state
programs addressing radon in indoor air in conjunction with individual
water systems meeting a drinking water standard of 4,000 picoCuries per
liter of water (pCi/L, a standard unit of radiation). EPA is encouraging
states to adopt this more cost-effective approach, which would address
radon in indoor air while requiring individual water systems to reduce the
higher levels of radon in drinking water. If a state does not elect this
option, individual water systems in that state would either reduce radon in
their system*s drinking water to 300 pCi/L or develop individual indoor air
radon programs and reduce levels in drinking water to 4,000 pCi/L. Water
systems already at or below the 300 pCi/L standard will not be required to
treat their water for radon.
EPA estimates the costs to states and community water systems of the more
cost-effective approach, i.e., reducing radon in indoor air while
implementing the 4,000 pCi/L drinking water standard, to be approximately
$86 million a year. Treating drinking water from all community ground
water sources to 300 pCi/L, would cost states and systems about $407
million a year.
The proposed drinking water standards would apply only to community water
systems that regularly serve 25 or more people or have at least 15
year-round service connections and
that use ground water as a drinking water source; EPA does not regulate
private wells. Aeration of water to promote the release of radon is very
effective and one of the more affordable water treatment technologies
available.
The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments required EPA to establish
several new health-based drinking water regulations. The first of these,
announced by President Clinton in December 1998, was for cryptosporidium
and other disease-causing microbes and for potentially harmful byproducts
of the water treatment process. Today*s multimedia proposal for radon is
the second of these new regulations. EPA will be developing new drinking
water regulations for arsenic early next year.
In 1988, the U.S. Surgeon General recommended that all homes in the United
States be tested for radon in indoor air and those with elevated levels be
fixed. Since that time, EPA has been working with state and local
governments, and with public health organizations at the national, state,
and local level to encourage the public to test for radon, fix high levels,
and build new homes with radon-resistant techniques. The National Academy
of Sciences, in a report this year, urged people who had not had their
homes tested for radon in indoor air to do so.
Consumers concerned about radon in their homes should first test the
indoor air for radon. If high levels are found, there are straightforward
ways to fix the home. EPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and many other health organizations recommend reducing radon in indoor air
to levels below 4 pCi/L.
In developing today*s proposal, EPA sought extensive input from the
states, local water systems, environmental groups, and the general public
in a series of public meetings across the nation over the past two years.
EPA is soliciting formal comment by publishing the proposed regulations
in the Federal Register for review for 60 days. The proposed regulations
will also be posted on EPA*s drinking water Web site at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater. The regulations are scheduled to be
finalized in August 2000.
For additional drinking water information, the public can call EPA*s
drinking water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit EPA*s drinking water Web
site at http://www.epa.gov/safewater. For additional information on radon
in indoor air, the public can also call the Radon Hotline at
1-800-SOS-RADON or visit EPA*s radon Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater on the Internet.
Bill Field
College of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology
N222 Oakdale Hall
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
mailto:bill-field@uiowa.edu
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html