Radium in Drinking Water
A Fact Sheet about Radium

This fact sheet is being provided to you courtesy of the City of West Chicago Water Utility Division.

Sources for the information provided in this fact sheet are:

Any questions regarding this fact sheet can be directed to.

What is Radium?
"Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is present in varying amounts in rocks and soil within the earth's :rust. Small quantities of radium derived from these sources can also be found in groundwater supplies Radium can be present in several forms (isotopes). The most common isotopes in Illinois groundwater are Ra-226 and Ra-228 The primary form of radiation emitted by radium is the alpha particle "

Radium in my water...
"...groundwater can contain significant amounts of radium due to local geology. Deep bedrock aquifers used for drinking water sometimes contain levels of Ra-226 and Ra-228 that exceed regulatory standards. In Illinois, high radium levels occur primarily in the northern third of the state due to the presence of radium in the granite bedrock that surround aquifers from which water supplies are drawn."

"...Radium samples from public water supplies are taken quarterly, tested by the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety, and averaged over a one-year period."

What level of radium in drinking water constitutes a health risk?
"The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has estimated that the additional lifetime risk of cancer associated with drinking water that emits alpha-particle radiation at 15 pico-curies per liter (pCi/L) of water or has a combined concentration of Ra-226 and Ra-228 of 5 pCi/L of water is about 1 in 10.000. The risk doubles to 2 in 10,000 at 10 pCi/L and triples to 3 in 10,000 at 15 pCi/L,. This analysis means that if 10,000 people were to consume 2 liters of water containing 5 pCi/L of radium every day for 70 years, one additional fatal cancer would be expected in the 10,000 people exposed. USEPA regulations set the drinking water standard at an average annual concentration of gross alpha-particle radioactivity in drinking water to 15 pCi/L and the average annual combined concentration of Ra-226 and Ra-228 to 5 pCi/L."

"The increased cancer risk from long-term ingestion of radium should be viewed in the context of current cancer statistics. Analysis of cancer statistics presented by the American Cancer Society on the World Wide Web at http://www2.cancer.org/cid/509.00 index/htm indicates that approximately 4,400 in 10,000 Americans will develop cancer at some point in their lifetimes, and approximately 2,200 of 10,000 Americans will die of cancer. Drinking water containing radioactivity at the maximum level permitted by the Safe Drinking Water Act will increase by one the number of deaths in the 10,000 people so exposed."

What is the extent of elevated radium in waterfront aquifers used for public-water supply in Illinois?
"With a few exceptions. radium concentrations in ground water from aquifers used for public-water supply in Illinois exceed the USEPA standard only in the Mt. Simon and Cambrian-Ordovician aquifers in northern Illinois."

"...Because of the depth of these aquifers is typically greater than 500 feet below land surface, these aquifers typically are used for water supply by municipalities. not by individual homeowners, "

How can I reduce the amount of radium in my drinking water?
Water treatment processes such as ion-exchange softening. lime softening and filtration to remove iron can appreciably reduce gross alpha radiation and Ra-226 concentrations in groundwater and are being used by a number of municipalities in Illinois to reduce the radium concentration in water delivered to homeowners. Some municipalities dilute water that contains elevated concentrations of radium by blending it with surface water or water from aquifers containing lower concentrations of radium.

"Water softeners, ion-exchange, or reverse osmosis water treatment systems also can be installed in the home to reduce radium concentrations."

Summary

The City of West Chicago has strived to minimize the impact of radium in the drinking water by blending water from shallow aquifers with water from deep well aquifers containing varying amounts of radium. In December 2000. USEPA finalized the rule for Ra-226. Ra-228 and alpha emitters to the current levels cited in this fact sheet

Once the rule was finalized, the City of West Chicago immediately began taking steps to design a state-of-the-art lime softening facility that will treat our water for the removal of radium as well as naturally occurring iron and hardness

What does this all mean.'

It means that the City of West Chicago is proactively seeking to design and construct a centralized water treatment facility that will treat all groundwater within the public water supply. The treatment process is being designed to provide Lake Michigan quality water for all West Chicago water users.

Our goal is to keep you informed of this important issue. The water treatment plant process is moving along very quickly. Updates as to the status of this project will be provided in the local newspapers and the City newsletter.