Home & Building Inspection Services
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Radon in Water Testing

Radon is a common New Hampshire groundwater quality problem. The risk from radon in water is relatively high when compared to other drinking water contaminants. At present there is no federal or state standard for radon in drinking water. In the absence of a final EPA standard, states surrounding New Hampshire are offering significantly different recommendations for a safe level for radon gas in drinking water. DES believes it is very unlikely that the future EPA Radon standard would exceed 4,000 pCi/L.

Radon concentrations in water may vary substantially from one test to another due to many reasons including the level of saturated soil above the rock, atmospheric pressure, prior well pumping and other factors. DES recommends at least two radon tests (at least one month apart when possible) be processed before determining the average radon concentration in water.

If you've tested your private well and have a radon in water problem, it can be fixed. Your home's water supply can be treated in one of two ways. Point-of-entry treatment can effectively remove radon from the water before it enters your home. Point-of-entry treatment usually employs either granular activated carbon (GAC) filters or aeration devices. Point-of-use treatment devices remove radon from your water at the tap, but only treat a small portion of the water you use, e.g., the water you drink. Point-of-use devices are not effective in reducing the risk from breathing radon released into the air from all water used in the home.

Aeration Treatment - Radon gas can be easily removed from drinking water by the process known as aeration. Aeration can achieve over 99 percent removal of radon gas from water. The process consists of mixing large volumes of clean air with the well water. The moist radon laden air is discharged outside the home. The treated water is re-pressurized so as to flow through your plumbing.

GAC Treatment:
While GAC (granular activated carbon) filters usually cost less than aeration devices, filters can collect radioactivity and may require a special method of disposal.
CAUTION: DES does not generally recommend AC (activated carbon)for radon removal, since radioactivity will build up on the carbon. In some cases this could make the carbon in the treatment container too radioactive to be near (in the basement or floor above) and would result in very expensive disposal. Some technical authors have suggested that AC is a reasonable treatment method for radon in water for concentrations below 5,000 pCi/L. NHDES is considering this recommendation further.

The above statements have been taken from the Websites of the US Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/hmbyguid.html#5.a.) and
the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (www.des.state.nh.us/factsheets/ws/ws-3-12.htm).

I offer the above excerpts only as a quick overview of what the experts are saying at this point in time. Please read the entire information on both these sites so that you will be fully informed on these issues.