Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Radium, combined (-226 and -228)

Town of Poolesville

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.

 

148

Samples

2

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

118

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.39 pCi/L11110.45 pCi/L - 2.86 pCi/L
20190.87 pCi/L1110ND - 1.80 pCi/L
20201.11 pCi/L2217ND - 3.90 pCi/L
20211.22 pCi/L5340ND - 7.88 pCi/L
20221.17 pCi/L2919ND - 3.40 pCi/L
20230.75 pCi/L2221ND - 2.50 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
2018-02-06B180014_012.74 pCi/L
2018-02-06B180014_022.16 pCi/L
2018-02-06LLI058591.51 pCi/L
2018-03-26B180060_011.57 pCi/L
2018-05-01B180091_012.86 pCi/L
2018-05-01B180091_020.99 pCi/L
2018-08-14B180197_011.29 pCi/L
2018-08-14B180197_020.47 pCi/L
2018-08-14LLI115340.47 pCi/L
2018-11-06B180283_010.79 pCi/L
2018-11-06B180283_020.45 pCi/L
2019-01-17LLI146440.35 pCi/L
2019-01-17LLI14645ND
2019-05-06LLH773820.70 pCi/L
2019-05-06LLH773841.53 pCi/L
2019-07-0201011.60 pCi/L
2019-07-0201020.90 pCi/L
2019-07-0201030.30 pCi/L
2019-10-037111.80 pCi/L
2019-10-037121.60 pCi/L
2019-10-037130.30 pCi/L
2019-10-037140.50 pCi/L
2020-01-22E0015310.90 pCi/L
2020-01-22E0015351.80 pCi/L
2020-04-01E0021203.90 pCi/L
2020-04-01E0021211.90 pCi/L
2020-04-01E0021220.80 pCi/L
2020-04-01E0021230.30 pCi/L
2020-07-076389-503-1-BND
2020-07-210721201.00 pCi/L
2020-07-21E0001491.30 pCi/L
2020-07-21E0001500.50 pCi/L
2020-07-21E0001510.90 pCi/L
2020-07-21LLI383611.30 pCi/L
2020-09-0163895121ND
2020-10-050150002_100520_TP130.80 pCi/L
2020-10-05E0006611.00 pCi/L
2020-10-05E0006622.00 pCi/L
2020-10-05E0006631.20 pCi/L
2020-10-05LLI445761.20 pCi/L
2020-10-05LLI45326ND
2020-10-066389-517-1-08ND
2020-10-066389517-1-123.58 pCi/L
2020-10-166389-517-1-13ND
2021-01-21E0014390.50 pCi/L
2021-01-21E0014401.30 pCi/L
2021-01-21E0014411.40 pCi/L
2021-01-21E0014420.70 pCi/L
2021-01-21E0014441.10 pCi/L
2021-01-21LLI464230.70 pCi/L
2021-03-096389-533-1-12ND
2021-03-096389-533-1-15ND
2021-03-096389-533-1-18ND
2021-03-306389_541_1_11.58 pCi/L
2021-03-30LLI514481.58 pCi/L
2021-04-060150002_040621_TP101.70 pCi/L
2021-04-06E0020282.20 pCi/L
2021-04-06E0020310.40 pCi/L
2021-04-06E0020320.20 pCi/L
2021-05-046389-545-1-133.63 pCi/L
2021-05-046389-545-1-16ND
2021-05-046389-545-1-197.88 pCi/L
2021-05-046389-545-1-52.02 pCi/L
2021-05-04LLI562337.88 pCi/L
2021-06-08LLI508470.69 pCi/L
2021-07-13E0001251.60 pCi/L
2021-07-13E0001260.60 pCi/L
2021-07-13E000127ND
2021-07-13E0001281.50 pCi/L
2021-07-13E0001291.20 pCi/L
2021-07-13E0001300.90 pCi/L
2021-08-246389-560-2-11.41 pCi/L
2021-08-246389-560-2-13ND
2021-08-246389-560-2-171.16 pCi/L
2021-08-246389-560-2-61.41 pCi/L
2021-08-24LLI51449ND
2021-08-24LLI563311.41 pCi/L
2021-08-24LLI56510ND
2021-08-24LLI57580ND
2021-10-05E0007151.80 pCi/L
2021-10-05E0007161.10 pCi/L
2021-10-05E0007172.40 pCi/L
2021-10-05E0007191.80 pCi/L
2021-10-05E0007200.50 pCi/L
2021-10-05LLI53805ND
2021-10-05LLI541042.00 pCi/L
2021-10-05LLI549160.80 pCi/L
2021-10-05LLI551390.50 pCi/L
2021-10-05LLI601781.00 pCi/L
2021-10-05LLI602940.30 pCi/L
2021-10-05LLI615271.50 pCi/L
2021-11-086389-574-1-3ND
2021-11-086389-574-1-41.65 pCi/L
2021-11-086389-574-1-51.33 pCi/L
2021-11-086389-574-1-61.08 pCi/L
2021-11-08LLI58432ND
2021-11-08LLI58885ND
2022-01-116389-580-1-1ND
2022-01-116389-580-1-13ND
2022-01-116389-580-1-19ND
2022-01-116389-580-1-25ND
2022-01-116389-580-1-7ND
2022-02-01E0013710.80 pCi/L
2022-02-01E0013722.30 pCi/L
2022-02-01E0013731.40 pCi/L
2022-02-01E0013741.70 pCi/L
2022-02-01E0013753.30 pCi/L
2022-02-01LLI548740.90 pCi/L
2022-04-12FWD0313ND
2022-04-12FWD0326ND
2022-04-12FWD0327ND
2022-04-12FWD03282.35 pCi/L
2022-04-12FWD0329ND
2022-04-12FWD0330ND
2022-04-21E0019811.90 pCi/L
2022-04-21E0019823.30 pCi/L
2022-04-21E0019843.40 pCi/L
2022-04-21E0019850.80 pCi/L
2022-07-19E0000581.10 pCi/L
2022-07-19E0000593.10 pCi/L
2022-07-19E0000601.40 pCi/L
2022-07-19E0000620.70 pCi/L
2022-07-19E0000631.80 pCi/L
2022-10-12E0006470.80 pCi/L
2022-10-12E0006481.30 pCi/L
2022-10-12E0006501.60 pCi/L
2023-01-30E0012620.30 pCi/L
2023-01-30E0012630.50 pCi/L
2023-01-30E0012642.50 pCi/L
2023-01-30E0012650.30 pCi/L
2023-01-30LLI687520.90 pCi/L
2023-01-30LLI68882ND
2023-01-30LLI692040.30 pCi/L
2023-01-30LLI771960.50 pCi/L
2023-04-18E0018551.40 pCi/L
2023-04-18E0018561.40 pCi/L
2023-04-18E0018570.30 pCi/L
2023-04-18E0018580.50 pCi/L
2023-04-18E0018590.30 pCi/L
2023-07-11E0001100.20 pCi/L
2023-07-11E0001110.60 pCi/L
2023-07-11E0001130.50 pCi/L
2023-07-11E0001140.50 pCi/L
2023-10-10E0007211.00 pCi/L
2023-10-10E0007220.70 pCi/L
2023-10-10E0007231.90 pCi/L
2023-10-10E0007240.90 pCi/L
2023-10-10E0007251.10 pCi/L