Radium Testing of Ground water Shows the Most Susceptible U.S. Regions

摘要

Groundwater in aquifers on the East Coast and in the central United States have the highest risk of contamination from radium, a naturally occurring radioactive element and a known carcinogen. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, radium was detected in concentrations that equaled or exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards in more than one in five wells tested in the Mid-Continent and Ozark Plateau Cambro-Ordovician aquifer systems (underlying parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin) and the North Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system (underlying parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia).