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WATER QUALITY STANDARDS CRITERIA DIGEST
A COMPILATION OF FEDERAL/STATE CRITERIA ON
-RADIATION-
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
AUGUST 1972
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INTRODUCTION
This digest was compiled in order to provide general information to the
public as well as to Federal, State, and local officials. It contains excerpts
from the individual Federal-State water quality standards establishing radio-
logical criteria for interstate waters. The water quality standards program is
directed by the Environmental Protection Agency, an independent regulatory agency
which has responsibility for approving State-adopted standards for interstate
waters, evaluating adherence to the standards, and overseeing enforcement of stan-
dards compliance.
Standards, the first nationwide strategy for water quality management, con-
tain four major elements: the use (recreation, drinking water, fish and wildlife
propagation, industrial, or agricultural) to be made of the interstate waters;
criteria to protect those uses; implementation plans (for needed industrial-
municipal waste treatment improvements, among others) and enforcement plans; and
an antidegradation statement to protect existing high quality waters.
Minimum water quality criteria, or numerical specificationsof physical,
chemical, temperature, and biological levels, are stated in the National Techni-
cal Advisory Committee report to the Secretary of the Interior, Water Quality
Criteria, dated April 1, 1968, and published by the Government Printing Office,
Washington, B.C. Unavailability of the NTAC report before June 30, 1967--the
date set by the Water Quality Act of 1965 for formal adoption of State standards--
resulted in significant variations between the state-adopted and the NTAC minimum
criteria. Some standards were adopted and approved before the NTAC report.became
available. Also, the Water Quality Criteria report is subject to updating in
light of new scientific and technical information.
Since radioactive materials such as radium, strontium 90, and tritium, are
toxic to man as well as being cumulative in his system, these pollutants are
subject to control, monitoring, and measurement whatever the contact medium.
The total radiation in an individual's environment--his job and medical treat-
ments, the food and water he consumes, and air he breathes—must be considered.
Radiation enters our environment from various sources: mining and processing of
radioactive ores; nuclear weapons testing fallout; power reactor emissions; and
medical, research, and industrial applications, as well as natural emissions from
stellar bodies and geological deposits.
The EPA-recommended criteria limits on these materials in water are:
Gross Beta 500 pc/1 (picocuries per liter)
Radium 1.0 pc/1
Strontium-90 10.0 pc/1
Tritium 3000.0 pc/1
These criteria essentially duplicate or parallel the recommended limits in the
U.S. Public Health Service Drinking Water Standards, cited by the NTAC report,
Water Quality Criteria.
Since water quality standards experience revisions and upgrading fron time
to time, following procedures set forth in the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act, individual entries in this digest may be superseded. As these revisions are
accomplished, this digest will be updated and reissued. Because this publication
is not intended for use other than as a general information resource, for the
latest information, and for special purposes and applications, refer to the existing
approved water quality standards which can be obtained from the State water pollution
control agencies or EPA Washington, D.C. or regional offices.
Individual State-adopted criteria follow.
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KEY
PWS , Public Water Supply
F§WL Fish and Wildlife
Agr. Agricultural
Ind. Industrial
MPCw Maximum Permissible
Concentration per week
pc/1 § pCi/1 Picocuries per liter
USPHS U.S. Public Health Service
(For explanation of use classifications, see EPA publication, "General
Stream Use Designations.")
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RADIATION CRITERIA
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
(1) Public Water Supply. No radionuclide or
mixture of radionuclides shall be present at
concentrations greater than those specified by
the EPA (USPHS) drinking water standards.
(2) Other Uses. The concentrations of radioactive
materials present shall not exceed the radiation
protection guides recommended by the Criteria and
Standards Division, Office of Radiation Protection,
EPA (formerly Federal Radiation Council).
Conform with current USPHS drinking water standards.
The concentration of radioactivity in the surface
waters of the state shall not:
a. Exceed l/30th of theMPCw values given for
continuous occupational exposure in National
Bureau of Standards handbook No. 69.
b. Exceed the Public Health Service Drinking water
standards for waters used for domestic supplies.
c. Result in the accumulation of radioactivity in
edible plants or animals that present a hazard
to consumers.
d. Be harmful to aquatic life.
The Rules and Regulations for the Control of Sources
of Ionizing Radiation, of the Division of Radiological
Health, Arkansas State Board of Health, shall apply as
to the limits established for radiation levels in un-
controlled areas.
None present in concentrations exceeding levels set
forth in California Radiation Control Regulations,
Subchapter 4, Chapter 5, Title 17, California Admin-
istrative Code at any place. Some variation in this
statement was.-adopted by the 32 regional water quality
boards,
1. As proposed by EPA in the Federal Register, March 11, ]972.
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Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Radioactive materials attributable to municipal,
industrial or other controllable sources will be
minimum concentrations that are physically and
economically feasible to achieve. In no case shall
such materials in the stream exceed the limits established
in the current edition of the U.S. Public Health Service
Drinking Water Standards or the limits approved by the
Federal Radiation Council, or, in the absence of any limits
specified by the U.S. Public Health Service or the Federal
Radiation Council, 1/30 of the 168-hour-week values for
other radioactive substances specified in the National
Bureau of Standards Handbook 69.
Alpha emitters 3 pc/1
Beta emitters 1000 pc/1
Also USPHS Drinking Water Standards
Alpha emitters 3 pc/1
Beta emitters 1000 pc/1
Gross Beta Activity - (in known absence of Strontium-90
and alpha emitters), not to exceed one thousand micro-
microcuries at any time.
The maximum permissable concentrations of radionuclides
in the waters of the state must conform to the limits
which are cited in Chapter 270-5-20 "Control of Radio-
active Materials" of the Rules and Regulations of the
Georgia Department of Public Health.
The concentrations of radioactivity in water shall not
exceed l/30th of the MPCw values given for continuous
occupational exposure in National Bureau of Standards
Handbook No. 69. No radionuclides or mixture of radio-
nuclides shall be present at concentrations greater than
those specified by the U.S. Public Health Service, Pub-
lication No. 956, as revised in 1962, as acceptable for
drinking water.
The concentration of radioactive materials present in
fresh, estuarine, and marine waters shall be less than
those that would require restrictions on the use of
organisms harvested from the area in order to meet the
Radiation Protection Guides recommended by the Federal
Radiation Council.
These water quality criteria are based upon the best
currently available data. It is possible that studies
planned to be made in connection with the implementation
program may prove them to be either inadequate or un-
attainable. For this reason, they will be subject to
periodic review and, where necessary, to change. Any
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Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
change will be made only after public hearing, held in
compliance with the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act
and the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Department
of Health.
Radioactive materials of other than natural origin shall
not be present in any amount which reflects failure in
any case to apply all controls which are physically or
economically feasible. In no case shall such materials
exceed the limits established in the 1962 USPHS.Drinking
Water Standards.
The General Standards listed below will protect the State's
water for aquatic life, (public and food processing water
supply) agricultural use, primary and secondary contact
use, and most industrial uses, and ensure the aesthetic
quality of the State's aquatic environment...Gross beta
concentration shall not exceed 100 pico curies per liter
(pCi/lJ. Concentrations of radium 226 and strontium 90
shall not exceed 1 and 2 pico curies per liter respectively.
Water supplies shall be approved without further
consideration of other sources of radioactivity
intake of Radium-226 and Strontium-90 when the
water contains these substances in amounts not exceeding
3 and 10 picocuries per liter, respectively. In the
known absence of Strontium-90 and alpha emitters, the
water supply is acceptable when the gross beta concen-
trations do not exceed 1,000 picocuries per liter.
Gross beta activity (in the known absence of 90 strontium
and alpha emitters) shall not exceed 1000 picocuries per
liter.
The concentration of 226 radium and 90 strontium shall
not exceed 3 and 10 picocuries per liter respectively.
The annual average concentration of specific radionuclides,
other than 226 radium and 90 strontium, shall not exceed
1/30 of the appropriate maximum permissible concen-
tration for the 168 hour week as set forth by the Inter-
national .Commission of Radiological Protection and the
National Committee on Radiation Protection.
Because any human exposure to unnecessary ionizing
radiation is undesirable, the concentrations of radio-
isotopes in natural waters shall be maintained at the
lowest practicable level.
USPHS Drinking Water Standards shall apply, except that
for substances generally toxic to fish, standards generally
accepted for fishery environment will be considered.
Gross beta activity not to exceed 1,000 picocuries per
liter, (pCi/1), nor shall activity from dissolved
Strontium-90 exceed 10 pCi/1, nor shall activity from
dissolved alpha emitters exceed 3pCi/l.
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Maine Fresh Water:
Class A No radioactive matter or substances
shall be permitted in these waters other
than that occurring from natural phenomena.
Class B No radioactive matter or substances shall
C be discharged to these waters which will
D raise the radionuclide concentrations
above the standards established by USPHS
as being acceptable for drinking water.
Salt Water: (All Classes)
No radioactive matter or substances shall
be permitted in these waters which would
be harmful to humans, animals or aquatic
life and there shall be no disposal of
any matter or substance which would result
in radio-nuclide concentrations in edible
fish or other aquatic life thereby rendering!
them dangerous for human consumption.
Maryland USPHS Drinking Water Standards apply,
Massachusetts PWS (Fresh Water) - None other than that occurring from
natural phenomena.
All other Classes: None in concentrations or combinations
which would be harmful to human, animal,
or aquatic life for the appropriate
water use. None in such concentrations
which would result in radionuclide
concentrations in aquatic life which
exceed the recommended limits for con-
sumption by humans.
Michigan Gross beta emitters 1,000 pc/1
Limits established by Federal Radiation Council.
Minnesota Not to exceed the lowest concentrations permitted to
be discharged to an uncontrollable environment as pre-
scribed by the appropriate authority having control over
their uses.
Mississippi There shall be no radioactive substances added to the
waters which will cause the gross beta activity (in the
absence of Strontium-90 and alpha emitters) to exceed
1000 micromicrocuries at any time.
Louisiana Criteria are those contained in Section C and Appendix A
of the Louisiana Radiation Regulation.
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Missouri
Montana
'Nebraska
Nevada
Hew Hampshire
The dissolved radium 226 and strontium-90 shall not
exceed 3 and 10 picocuries/liter (Pc/l) respectively
in the stream due to effluents or surface runoff. In
the absence of strontium-90 and alpha emitters, the gross
beta concentration shall not exceed 1000 pc/1 in the
stream due to effluents or surface runoff.
Class A - Closed - No wastes shall be allowed which
increase radioactivity above natural
background.
USPHS Drinking Water Standards
Same as A-Open-B-C except where
concentration factors of aquatic
flora and fauna exceed the recom-
mended reduction factors, then maximum
permissable limits shall be reduced
below acute or chronic problem levels.
Same as A-Open.
E
F
Radiological limits shall be in accordance with the
Radiological Health Regulation, State of Nebraska, 1st
Edition 1966, and as amended in its latest edition.
Shall not be present in concentrations, from other than
natural origin, which are not deleterious to animal^
plant, or aquatic life or which exceed the USPHS 1962
Drinking Water Standards.
(1.) No radioactive materials should be present in
natural waters as a consequence of the failure of an
installation to exercise appropriate controls to minimize
releases.
(2) USPHS Drinking Water Standards will apply.
(3) The concentrations of radioactive materials present
in fresh, estuarine, and marine waters should be less
than those that would require restrictions on the use of
organisms harvested from the area to meet the Radiation
Protection Guides recommended by the Federal Radiation
Council.
New Jersey
USPHS Drinking Water Standards will apply.
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New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
The concentrations of radioactivity will be maintained
at the lowest practical level. Radionuclides shall not
be present in receiving waters in concentrations that
are inimical to aquatic life or that will, after con-
ventional drinking water treatment, prevent meeting the
U.S. Public Health Service 1962 Drinking Water Standards
or be greater than 1/30 of the 168 hour value for other
radioactive substances specified in National Bureau of
Standards Handbook 69.
USPHS Drinking Water Standards will apply.
Gross beta activity (in the known absence of strontium-90
and alpha emitters) not to exceed 1000 pc/1 (picocuries
per liter) at any time.
No discharge permitted unless the materials are readily
soluble or dispersable in water and of acceptable
quantities as recognized by the State Health Department
and other appropriate State or Federal agencies.
Gross beta activity (in the known absence of strontium-90
and alpha emitters) not to exceed 1,000 micromicrocuries
per liter at any time.
The average concentration of the radio-
nuclide (or radionuclides) in water at points of release
from the control of the user shall not exceed the limits
prescribed for such releases in the applicable portion of
the current set of Radiation Protection Regulations, as
promulgated by the Oklahoma State Board of Health or
subsequent revisions thereof. A reasonable effort shall
be made to identify each radionuclide, and to determine
its concentrations, which is present in the effluent.
Radioisotope concentrations not to exceed Maximum Per-
missable Concentrations (MFC's) in drinking water,edible
fishes or shellfishes, wildlife,irrigated crops,livestock
dairy products or pose an external radiation hazard.
Other than a general prohibition against all toxic
materials, standards do not contain a specific reference
to radionuclides. State permit system is used to place
appropriate radionuclide discharge limits on individual
dischargers.
The level of radioactive materials in all waters shall
not be in concentrations or combinations which would be
harmful to human, animal or aquatic life.
None to exceed limitations set forth in the latest
USPHS Drinking Water Standards.
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South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Not permitted in concentrations greater than (a) l/30th
of National Bureau of Standards Handbook 69 values, (b)
limits set by USPHS in Drinking Water Standards and (c)
levels injurious to plant, animal, or aquatic life.
Other pollutants shall not be added to the water in
quantities that may be detrimental to public health or
impair the usefulness of the water as a source of domestic
water supply-( or other water use designated).
Levels of ionizing radiation and radioactive materials
of all kinds, from both dissolved and suspended matter,
shall be regulated by the Texas Radiation Control Act,
Article 4590(f), Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, and the
Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation issued there-
after.
USPHS Drinking Water Standards 1962 apply. Also,radioactive
substances shall not exceed l/30th of the MFC values
specified in the National Bureau of Standards Handbook
69 or result in accumulation of radioactivity in edible
plants and animals that present a hazard to consumers.
Wastes shall be free of chemical and radiological con-
stituents which would be harmful to the governing water
class use. In areas where fisheries are the governing
consideration and approved limits have not been established,
bio-assays shall be performed as required by the appropriate'
state agencies.
Discharge of radioactive materials to the waters of the
state shall not exceed the lowest practicable limits
after utilization of the latest technological developments
and equipment for control of radioactive emissions.
All areas except shellfish.
Gross beta
Radium-226
Strontium-90
Shellfish
1,000 pc/1
3 pc/1
10 pc/1
1. Radium 226 not to exceed 3 pc/1
Strontium-90 not to exceed 10 pc/1
2. In the known absence of strontium-90 and alpha
emitting radionuclides, gross beta activity
not to exceed 1,000 pc/1.
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Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
District of Columbia
Guam
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands
Less than those which may affect public health, the
natural aquatic environment, or the desirability of the
water for any usage,
(Wording generally the same for all classes).
Gross beta activity
Strontium-90
Alpha emitters
1,000 pCi/1
10 pCi/1
3 pCi/1
USPHS Drinking Water Standards apply.
Radioactive materials of other than natural origin
shall not be present in any amount which reflects failure
in any case to apply all controls which are physically
and economically feasible. In no case shall such materials
exceed the limits established in the 1962 Public Health
Service Drinking Water Standards or 1/30 (168 hour value)
of the values for radioactive substances specified in the
National Bureau of Standards Handbook 69.
Waters shall be free of high temperature, toxic, corrosive
or other deleterious substances attributable to sewage,
industrial waste, or other waste in concentrations or
combinations which interfere directly or indirectly with
water uses, or which are harmful to human,animal, plant
or aquatic life.
USPHS Drinking Water Standards apply.
Also, the concentration of radioactivity shall not:
(a) exceed 1/30 of the MPCw values given for continuous
occupational exposure in National Bureau of Standards
Handbook No. 69 as revised, (b) exceed the current Public
Health Service Drinking Water Standards for waters used
for public or domestic supplies,Ic) result in accumulations
of radioactivity in edible plants and animals that present
a hazard to consumers, (d) be harmful to aquatic life.
Since human exposure to any ionizing radiation is un-
desirable, the concentration of radioactivity in natural
waters will be maintained at the lowest practicable level.
Toxic wastes, or deleterious substances alone or in
combination with other substances or wastes in sufficient
amount as to prevent the survival or propagation of fish
life or impair the waters £6r any other best usage as
determined for the specific waters which are assigned to
this class.
Free from substances attributable to municipal, industrial,
or other discharges in concentrations or combinations
which are toxic or harmful to human, animal, or aquatic
life.
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