Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Radium, combined (-226 and -228)

Veiola Water Idaho

Radium is a radioactive element that causes bone cancer and other cancers. It can occur naturally in groundwater, and oil and gas extraction activities such as hydraulic fracturing can elevate concentrations. Read More.

Radium releases radioactive particles that harm health in many ways, causing tumors in bone, lungs and other organs; leukemia; and skin and blood damage. Water utilities typically report radium amounts in picocuries per liter (pCi/L), which is a measure of radioactivity in water. The two most common forms of radium are radium-226 and radium-228. They may be reported separately or together.

Federal law allows up to 5 picocuries per liter of combined radium-226 and radium-228 in tap water. Research by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that in some regions of the country, such as the mid-continental region and North Atlantic coastal region, more than 20 percent of sampled wells have radium in levels exceeding the federal drinking water limit. And the legal limit does not equate safety: The EPA estimates that one in every 10,000 people drinking water containing radium at this level would develop cancer over a lifetime.

California set a public health goal much lower than the federal limit – 0.05 picocuries per liter of radium-226 and 0.019 picocuries per liter of radium-228, concentrations that are lower than the detection limit for most water tests.

Click here to read more on radiological contaminants.

 

153

Samples

1

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

23

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.02 pCi/L461ND - 1.03 pCi/L
20190.05 pCi/L331ND - 1.81 pCi/L
20200.46 pCi/L195ND - 2.83 pCi/L
20211.11 pCi/L2814ND - 7.10 pCi/L
20220.20 pCi/L81ND - 1.62 pCi/L
20230.05 pCi/L191ND - 1.01 pCi/L

pCi/L = picocuries per liter

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.05 pCi/L

EWG applied the health guideline of 0.05 pCi/L, defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal for radium-226, to radium-226 and radium-228 combined. This health guideline protects against cancer.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 5 pCi/L

The legal limit for combined radium-226 and radium-228, established in 1976, was based on costs for radium removal, as calculated at the time that the standard was set. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to radium exposure.

pCi/L = picocuries per liter

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2018-02-01R1804594ND
2018-02-01R1804596ND
2018-02-05R1804987ND
2018-02-06R1805281ND
2018-02-06R1805275ND
2018-02-12R1806154ND
2018-02-12EE01714-01ND
2018-05-15R1821861ND
2018-05-15R1821852ND
2018-05-154870105ND
2018-05-23R1823166ND
2018-05-23R1823167ND
2018-05-23SPDW-30004ND
2018-06-05R1825335ND
2018-06-05R1825334ND
2018-06-05R1825333ND
2018-06-06R1825593ND
2018-06-06R1825592ND
2018-06-06R1825591ND
2018-06-06R1825590ND
2018-06-06I1825593ND
2018-06-12R1826499ND
2018-06-122109I87-002AND
2018-06-15R18273511.03 pCi/L
2018-06-21R1828607ND
2018-06-21R1828609ND
2018-06-21R1828642ND
2018-06-26R1829349ND
2018-06-26R1829350ND
2018-06-26R1829346ND
2018-07-02R1830581ND
2018-07-02R1830579ND
2018-07-02R1830583ND
2018-07-02R1830582ND
2018-07-05R1831168ND
2018-07-10R1832043ND
2018-07-10R1832045ND
2018-07-10R1832030ND
2018-07-10R1832035ND
2018-07-10R1832037ND
2018-07-10R1832032ND
2018-07-10EE01653-01ND
2018-07-18R1833958ND
2018-07-18R1833960ND
2018-07-18R1833963ND
2018-11-19R1857272ND
2019-01-31R1904616ND
2019-01-31R1904612ND
2019-02-07R1905725ND
2019-02-19R1907389ND
2019-03-06R19098661.81 pCi/L
2019-03-06R1909869ND
2019-04-17R1917320ND
2019-04-22R1918244ND
2019-04-22R1918242ND
2019-04-30R1919665ND
2019-04-30R1919662ND
2019-05-29R1925122ND
2019-06-11R1927620ND
2019-06-12R1927980ND
2019-06-12R1927977ND
2019-06-12R1927975ND
2019-06-1221A0283-02ND
2019-06-20R1929655ND
2019-07-03R1932119ND
2019-07-09R1933030ND
2019-07-10R1933349ND
2019-07-10R1933344ND
2019-07-10R1933342ND
2019-07-10EH02201-01ND
2019-07-18R1935144ND
2019-07-19R1935268ND
2019-08-02R1937929ND
2019-08-05R1938145ND
2019-08-05R1938147ND
2019-08-26R1942931ND
2019-08-28R1942933ND
2019-09-05R1944524ND
2019-11-13R1957173ND
2020-03-05R2010084ND
2020-05-12R2021373ND
2020-05-27R2024176ND
2020-05-272105234-001DND
2020-06-22R2029097ND
2020-06-22R2029092ND
2020-06-25R20299781.17 pCi/L
2020-07-06R2031373ND
2020-07-06R2031369ND
2020-07-07R20316101.00 pCi/L
2020-07-07R2031606ND
2020-07-09R2032321ND
2020-07-09R20323191.09 pCi/L
2020-07-09R20323142.83 pCi/L
2020-07-15R2033249ND
2020-07-22R2034796ND
2020-07-29R2036179ND
2020-07-30R20363442.64 pCi/L
2020-10-07R2050273ND
2021-02-22D21081111.29 pCi/L
2021-02-22R21081151.16 pCi/L
2021-04-05R21151282.75 pCi/L
2021-05-05R2121278ND
2021-05-05R21212722.07 pCi/L
2021-05-12R2122694ND
2021-06-02R21266201.87 pCi/L
2021-06-02R21266227.10 pCi/L
2021-06-02FH03381-021.87 pCi/L
2021-06-09R21283602.88 pCi/L
2021-06-0922E1030-012.88 pCi/L
2021-06-14R2129195ND
2021-06-16R21297491.31 pCi/L
2021-06-16R2129747ND
2021-06-16R21297421.33 pCi/L
2021-06-16FF03078-031.31 pCi/L
2021-07-06R2133412ND
2021-07-06R2133419ND
2021-07-06R2133417ND
2021-07-06R2133432ND
2021-07-06FF02730-01ND
2021-07-07R2133973ND
2021-08-03R21395841.11 pCi/L
2021-08-09R2140776ND
2021-08-09R21407742.09 pCi/L
2021-10-04R2152672ND
2021-10-04R2152676ND
2021-10-11R2154379ND
2022-06-28R2230855ND
2022-06-28R22308441.62 pCi/L
2022-07-12R2233130ND
2022-07-12R2233129ND
2022-07-12R2233128ND
2022-07-122209P23-002AND
2022-08-03R2237781ND
2022-11-01R2254575ND
2023-01-24R2301537-01ND
2023-04-26R2307952-01ND
2023-06-07R2311312-01ND
2023-06-07R2311288-01ND
2023-06-09R2311501-01ND
2023-06-09R2311486-01ND
2023-06-0922A0524-04ND
2023-06-27R2312926-01ND
2023-07-06R2313624-01ND
2023-07-06R2313596-01ND
2023-07-06FA00234-01ND
2023-07-06FA03333-01ND
2023-07-19R2314934-01ND
2023-07-19FI03324-01ND
2023-07-19FL00641-01ND
2023-07-26R2315538-01ND
2023-07-26R2315527-01ND
2023-07-31R2315881-011.01 pCi/L
2023-07-31R2315874-01ND