United States                      Office of Water                    EPA 815-F-99-009
Environmental Protection              (4607)                           October 1999
Agency


  vvEPA   Consumer Fact Sheet:

               Proposed Radon in  Drinking Water  Rule

Background
The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments required EPA to establish several new, health-
based drinking water regulations. The first of these, announced by President Clinton in
December, 1998, set requirements for microbial and disinfection byproducts. The multimedia
proposal for radon will be the second of these health-based drinking water regulations.

Breathing radon  in the indoor air of homes is the primary public health risk from radon,
contributing to about 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States, according to a
landmark report this year by the National Academy of Sciences (MAS) on radon in indoor air.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.  Based on a second NAS
report on radon in drinking water, EPA estimates that radon in drinking water causes about 168
cancer deaths per year, 89 percent from lung cancer caused by  breathing radon released from
water, and 11 percent from stomach cancer caused by drinking radon-containing water.

Proposed Regulations
••    EPA is proposing new regulations to reduce the public health risks from radon.

»•    The proposed standards would apply only to community water systems that regularly serve
     25 or more  people and that use ground water or mixed ground and surface water (e.g.,
     systems serving homes, apartments, and trailer parks). They would not apply to systems
     that rely on surface water where radon levels in the water are very low. They also would not
     apply to private wells, because EPA does not regulate them.

     The proposal will provide states flexibility in how to limit exposure to radon by allowing them
     to focus their efforts on the greatest radon risks - those in indoor air - while also reducing
     the risks from radon in drinking water.

     The unique multimedia framework for this proposed regulation is outlined in the Safe
     Drinking Water Act, as amended in 1996.
     >       First Option: States can choose to develop enhanced state programs to address
            the health risks from radon in indoor air - known as Multimedia Mitigation (MMM)
            programs — while individual water systems reduce radon levels in drinking water to
            4,000 pCi/L (picoCuries per liter, a standard unit of radiation). EPA is encouraging
            States to adopt this option because it is the most cost-effective way to achieve the
            greatest radon risk reduction.

            Second Option: If a state chooses not to  develop  an MMM program, individual
            water systems in that state would  be required to either reduce radon in their
            system's drinking water to 300 pCi/L or develop individual local  MMM programs
            and reduce levels in drinking water to 4000 pCi/L.  Water systems already at or
            below the 300 pCi/L standard will not be required  to treat their water for radon.

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 ••    The proposed regulation identifies four criteria that MMM program plans would be required
      to meet to be approved by EPA:
      "       Public involvement in the development of the MMM plan;
      »•       Quantitative goals for reducing radon in existing and new homes;
      ••       Strategies for achieving these quantitative goals; and
      >•       A plan for tracking and reporting results.

 ••    EPA sought extensive input from the states, water systems, environmental groups, and the
      general public in a series of public meetings over the past two years to design the proposed
      approach.

 ••    EPA is soliciting formal comment by publishing the proposed regulation in the Federal
      Register tor a 60 day review and comment period.  Comments must be received 60 days
      after publication of the notice. For specific instructions, see the Federal Register notice's
      "Addresses" section.  A copy of the Federal Register notice of the proposed regulation can
      be obtained by contacting the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.  It is also
      posted on  EPA's drinking water web site at http://www.epa.gov/safewater.

 For More Information
 For general information on radon in drinking water, visit EPA's radon in drinking water web site at
 http://www.epa.gov/safewater/radon.html or contact the Safe Drinking Water  Hotline, at (800)
 426-4791. The Safe Drinking Water Hotline is open Monday through Friday,  excluding Federal
 holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Eastern Time. For more information on radon in indoor air,
 contact the  National Safety Council's  Environmental Health Center hotline at  (800) SOS-RADON.
 Or, visit EPA's radon in indoor air web site at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon for more information.

 The following documents and fact sheets will be available to the public, through EPA's web site
 on radon in  drinking water or by contacting the Safe Drinking Water Hotline:
• ••    Federal Register notice of the proposed radon regulations
 ••    Technical Fact Sheet on Proposed Radon in Drinking Water Rule (EPA 815-F-99-006)
 >    Consumer Fact Sheet on Radon in  Drinking Water: Questions and Answers (EPA 815-F-99-
      007)

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