Water in private wells may have unsafe or dangerous levels of a radioactive element ? and Anne Arundel County wants you to know about it.
Two out of three private wells have levels above the federal Environmental Protection Agency requirement for radium, a naturally occurring element that in heavy and prolonged doses can cause bone cancer, according to the county health department.
And with only 3,500 of 20,000 county private wells tested, county health officials are trying to alert well owners. Due to geological conditions, the radium issue is concentrated in the northern section of Anne Arundel.
“Property owners who have not tested their wells need to know about the health risks,” said Kerry Topovski, director of the department?s environmental health division.
The EPA requires all publicly operated water systems and new wells to have a radium level of no higher than 5 picocurie per liter (pCi/l).
Constant exposure to the EPA maximum of radium can cause one death per 10,000 people. Typical annual radium exposure is equivalent to one chest X-ray, according to the county health department. But existing private wells are not regulated, and some wells tested have registered a 66 pCi/l.
“We?re finding levels upwards of 66pCi/l ? that?s 12 times more than the standard, and that risk also increases,” Topovski said.
The county is offering grants to homeowners to have their wells tested and fitted with devices that reduce radium levels. While the response from residents for testing has met quotas, only seven residents have received grants in the past 18 months for devices. This week, the county plans to announce efforts to promote radium testing and reduction.
While some private wells have high radium levels, the public water system operated by the county and the city of Annapolis has levels below the EPA standard, officials said.
A 1998 survey of private wells found most wells in the northern part of the county were contaminated with radium. As a result, Anne Arundel has mandated new and replaced wells be dug deeper.
Robert Copsey, owner of Wolford?s Well and Pump Services Inc. in Pasadena, said wells north of Route 50 cost 66 percent more than ones south of the highway because of the radium issue. Wells in north county are between 250 and 450 feet deep, while in south county, the wells are about 250 feet deep.
“It?s the length of time, the wear and tear on the equipment that explains the higher costs,” Copsey said.
