YEP..there is no Uranium or plutonium in the water in Texas...lol. I wonder what is in the water in other states?
LANL Plutonium Reported in Santa Fe Drinking Water, While Dignitaries Celebrate First Plutonium PitCCNS NEWS UPDATE
7/6/07 through 7/14/07
The Santa Fe Water Quality Report for 2006 was delivered with the June water bills. The report stated that there was a "qualified detection of plutonium 238" in Buckman Well Number 1. This means that plutonium from the development and production of nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) was detected in Santa Fe drinking water supplies. However, the actual amount of plutonium contamination could not be determined by the test performed. The Water Quality Report is issued each year as required by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. In 2006, all contamination detections were below federal and state drinking water quality limits.
Plutonium is the main ingredient in the core or trigger of a nuclear weapon, known as a plutonium pit. At the same time that the detection of plutonium is being reported, LANL is once again taking its place as the nation's plutonium pit manufacturing facility. Dignitaries were invited to a celebration for certifying the first plutonium pit to be accepted by the government for use in the nation's nuclear-weapons stockpile since 1989, when Rocky Flats was raided by the FBI for environmental crimes. According to Nuclear Watch New Mexico, a Santa Fe based NGO, this new pit cost approximately $2.2 billion.
In the production of plutonium pits, contaminants are released into the environment through air and water emissions and radioactive and hazardous waste is generated. The first plutonium pit was manufactured at LANL for use against Nagasaki, Japan during World War II. At that time, the waste was dumped in unlined and shallow trenches.
Approximately 12,000 cubic meters of plutonium contaminated waste remains in unlined burial areas on the LANL site, which is a source of the groundwater contamination. LANL is located above the regional aquifer, which flows towards the Buckman Well Field, where the City of Santa Fe gets 40% of its drinking water.
Registered Geologist, Robert H. Gilkeson, said that intermittent and low level detections can be an early indication of an approaching contaminant plume.
Gilkeson said, "There is an emerging environmental emergency. Detections of LANL radionuclides in Santa Fe drinking water wells have been published by the Department of Energy in environmental reports since the late 1990s, but the detections have not been adequately investigated. The contamination must be addressed now with monthly sampling using the most sensitive analytical methods."
In addition, a recent independent study of the area surrounding LANL found elevated and potentially harmful levels of radioactivity in materials which humans are routinely exposed to, such as dusts and plant life. The Government Accountability Project performed the study, with technical assistance from Boston Chemical Data, Inc. They will hold a public press conference to discuss these findings on Tuesday, July 10 at the Hotel Santa Fe, beginning at 11 am.
Joni Arends, of CCNS said, "LANL contaminants are impacting the surrounding communities. What is national security if we do not have clean air, water and soil? LANL contamination must be prioritized as the threat and the mission transformed to clean up past operations. The time for nuclear weapons is over."
Important note regarding plutonium:
The isotope plutonium 238 (Pu-238) is used predominantly as an energy source and very little is present in a plutonium pit. The main ingredient in a pit is Pu-239. Detections of all three isotopes of plutonium have been reported in Los Alamos County and the city of Santa Fe drinking water wells by the Department of Energy and LANL. The isotope Pu-238 is far more short lived than other plutonium isotopes and therefore more radioactive. At LANL Pu-238 is processed at TA-55, along with other isotopes and the waste is disposed of with Pu 239 and 240 as transuranic waste.
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Texas Commission on Environmental Quality http://www.khou.com/news/texas-drinking-water-radiation-levelsIn order to obtain the right water system to search, look at your water bill to find the correct name. For instance, many residents who have a mailing address in “Katy, TX ” actually obtain their water from smaller water systems or municipal utility districts, not from the “City of Katy.”
Radiation tests performed for water providers in Texas since 2004. Source: TCEQ
What your numbers mean
Gross alpha
Alpha particles are a type of ionizing radiation ejected by the nuclei of some unstable atoms. They are typically emitted from the elements uranium, radium, plutonium and thorium. The MCLG (federally recognized public health goal) for alpha particles is ZERO, however the legal limit (MCL) is set at 15 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). The EPA instructs water systems to “subtract” uranium from its “gross alpha” readings before they ae reported to you on an annual water quality report. This searchable database includes all results where Gross Alpha was reported in excess of 3.00 pCi/L.
Gross beta
Beta particles are another form of ionizing radiation. They are smaller in size than alpha particles but can penetrate deeper into the body if consumed. The EPA says, “It is their excess energy, in the form of speed, that causes harm to living cells. When transferred, this energy can break chemical bonds and form ions.” Some examples of the different types of elements that give off beta particles are strontium-90 and tritium. The federally recognized public health goal (MCLG) for beta particles is zero. However, the legal limit (MCL) is set at 50 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). This searchable database includes all results where gross beta was reported in excess of 4.00 pCi/L.
Uranium
Uranium is a naturally-occurring radioactive element and can be enriched to make nuclear weapons. All uranium isotopes are radioactive. The main use of uranium in the civilian sector is to fuel commercial nuclear power plants, where fuel is typically enriched. People who live near federal government facilities that made or tested nuclear weapons, or facilities that mine or process uranium ore or enrich uranium for reactor fuel, may have increased exposure to uranium. The EPA states, “Since uranium tends to concentrate in specific locations in the body, risk of cancer of the bone, liver cancer, and blood diseases (such as leukemia) are increased. Inhaled uranium increases the risk of lung cancer.” Uranium is also toxic to the kidneys, as it's also considered a toxic metal. The federally recognized public health goal (MCLG) for uranium is zero. However, the legal limit (MCL) is set at 30 mg/L (micrograms per liter).
Radium
Radium is a naturally-occurring radioactive metal. Its most common isotopes are radium-226, radium 224 and radium-228. Radium is a radionuclide formed by the decay of uranium and thorium in the environment. The EPA does not currently test for radium 224. The federally recognized public health goal (MCLG) for radium is zero. However, the legal limit (MCL) for all types of radium “combined” is set at 5 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). The alpha radiation from radium is included in the gross alpha reading as described above. This searchable database includes all results where radium 228 was measured in excess of 1.00 pCi/L.
Facts you should know
The above is a TCEQ database of every raw radiation test result for every water system in Texas, dating back to 2004. However, KHOU-TV has discovered that for decades the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has under-reported many of these radiation readings to utilities and their communities. This under-reporting took place for all radioactive contaminants in drinking water (known as radionuclides) and did not stop until 2009, after an EPA audit. Hence, the above raw readings may not match those found in the annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, you receive from your water company.
In addition, you may actually have more alpha activity and other forms of radiation in your water than what your annual water report states, because of rules set up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Specifically, the EPA instructs the nation’s water systems not to include in its “gross” alpha readings the radiation in your water that comes from radioactive uranium, even though uranium gives off radioactive alpha particles. Consequently, uranium readings are subtracted from the raw alpha particle activity you may see reported above, before the readings are reported to you.
Many water systems in Texas and across America come very close to achieving the federally recognized public health goal for ionizing radiation in drinking water, which is set at zero (This is called the MCLG). The EPA maintains there is a “zero threshold” allowance for ionizing radiation in your drinking water as it pertains to potential health concerns. This is different than other MCLGs the EPA set for other contaminants such as selenium, copper, fluoride or even chlorine residuals in water (these MCLGs are set above zero).
The EPA has also set a “legal” limit, which it calls the MCL (maximum contaminant limit) above zero for radioactive materials. That legal limit is the amount of radiation that could trigger enforcement action, and scientists caution that having amounts below that limit in your water does not mean there are no known adverse health effects that may arise. It is important to note, the presence of radiation in your water does not mean you will definitely develop a health problem or cancer. The TCEQ argues it takes a certain level of exposure over a period of 70 years for the typical levels of radiation found to create an impact on human health.
Other environmental scientists and toxicologists maintain that any amount of exposure does immediately increase your risk for illness or, in rare cases, developing cancer. The more exposure you get, they argue, the greater your chances of developing a health problem. While all radionuclides have different risk exposures, the EPA set its Maximum Contaminant Limit for items such as uranium at 30 micrograms/liter of water.
The EPA has said that a community that is exposed to uranium in its drinking water at the level of the MCL, over a lifetime of drinking water, “will typically correspond to a lifetime radiogenic cancer risk of slightly less than one in 10,000." That calculation does not take into effect if a person is exposed to other radionuclides or carcinogenic contaminants in their water.
