As a result, well owners are responsible for making sure their drinking water is safe and of good quality.įor more information on testing your well water, contact your local or state health department.Īcross the United States, there are varying amounts of NORM found in drinking water. Unlike community water systems, wells are usually not regulated or routinely inspected for radionuclides. households use private wells as their main source of drinking water.
Most of this waste is disposed in landfills and storage ponds, or is land-applied. Because the NORM is concentrated due to human activity, it is classified as Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM). The likelihood that source water in a certain area will contain radionuclides depends on soil and rock conditions in that area.ĮPA has specific regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that limit the amount of radioactivity allowed in community water systems.Īs water is treated to remove impurities, radionuclides may collect as sediment and sludge and also build up in filters, tanks and pipes at treatment plants. Because uranium, radium and radon can dissolve in water, these radionuclides can be present in source water. Radium breaks down to form the radioactive gas, radon. The most frequently-occurring radionuclides (and their decay products decay productsThe atoms formed and the energy and particles emitted as radioactive material decays to reach a stable form.) found in source water include: When a drinking water source, either surface or groundwater, comes in contact with NORM-bearing rocks and soils, radionuclides can accumulate in the source water. All rocks and soils contain some trace amounts of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials Materials found in nature that emit ionizing radiation that have not been moved or concentrated by human activity.(NORM).
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