RADIOACTIVITY IN SMALL HOMES USING WELL WATER

Alpha-track detectors were used for three months in several hundred homes located in northern Virginia to determine indoor (airborne) radon concentrations, and these concentrations were compared to measurements of dissolved radon in the kitchen water supply (normally used for drinking water). The comparisons were grouped according to the size of the homes. Homes using municipal water (reservoir water) had waterborne radon concentrations of less than 100 pCi/L and were found among all the size groups. Homes using well water had waterborne radon concentrations from less than 1000 pCi/L up to almost 10,000 pCi/L. In the subset of homes with well water, the smaller homes tend to have much higher indoor (airborne) radon than the larger homes. Consequently, the combined risk of cancer from airborne radon and waterborne radon is greatest in communities of small homes using well water.