New Jersey and Pennsylvania are among a number of states plentiful in radon. For more than a decade, state and federal governments have held off in regulating how much of the gas should be allowed in drinking water. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is analyzing data as it considers its next step.
In a report last year, the scientific body charged with this task, the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute, recommended that homes and schools have mandatory air tests - nearly all radon-related deaths come from lung cancer - and a maximum level for drinking water set at a point where an additional 1 in 2,000 people would develop cancer over a lifetime of exposure.
That's 500 times the accepted risk for the standard industrial pollutant.
The DEP is reviewing the institute's report and will conduct its own inquiry, said John Plonski, assistant commissioner for water resources. "We are taking this very seriously," he said.
There is no time frame for when possible radon regulations would be in place, Plonski said.
Scientists estimate that more than 200,000 New Jerseyans - primarily in the northwest, but also in parts of Gloucester County - are exposed to radon levels at or greater than the prescribed level.
Over the last two decades, public water systems have at times reached levels more than 25 times the allowable radon exposure recommended to DEP, according to the institute's data.
That's because excess radon is found in underground aquifers, not in water drawn from rivers, where the gas escapes.
In areas where radon is known to be prevalent, some residents intentionally stand back when they turn on the faucet or shower, which sends the radioactive gas in the water into the air. But many never think about it until they're selling their home and are requested by the buyer or mortgage company to have a radon air test performed. The tests are not required in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, according to state environmental officials.
