BeerBorg

on a whim I asked a spring water source for publix if they could send me a water analysis report. they sent me a full disclosure! I mean it tests everything for this well source. I was totally blown away. one thing I saw that concerns me is the radon levels indicated in the test sample... radon in well water? hmmm

it tested at 833 pCi/L.

anyone with a chemistry background that can tell me what this means and if that level is bad?

did some poking around... seems the main concern about radon in drinking water is how it contributes to the overall radon levels in your home's air..which contributes to lung cancer risk. the transfer rate for 833 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) would be 0.0833 pCi/L. now to me this seems tiny. further, if I am brewing outdoors the radon should be going into the atmosphere and not my house so I should be ok.

this was the only thing that got my attention on the report. seems wildwood springs florida well source is pretty clean. publix has 2 other spring water sources so i'll check those in time too out of curiosity.. the report really blew me away. they tested for herbacides, pesticides, asbesthos, radon, bacteria, etc etc etc etc..... each report listed the lab, the tech, one listed chain of sample handling ... wow. I love research. wish I could get paid to look stuff up.

zorak1066 wrote:on a whim I asked a spring water source for publix if they could send me a water analysis report. they sent me a full disclosure! I mean it tests everything for this well source. I was totally blown away. one thing I saw that concerns me is the radon levels indicated in the test sample... radon in well water? hmmm

it tested at 833 pCi/L.

anyone with a chemistry background that can tell me what this means and if that level is bad?

Your well (Edit: Your spring water?] tested at 833 picoCuries Per Liter.

There is a proposed Federal standard for an Alternate Maximum Contaminant Level (AMCL) of 4000 pCi/L for municiple water supplies and a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for smaller community water supplies of 300 pCi/L when not adopting the state or federal standards.

Proposed Regulations for Radon in Drinking Water

US EPA Radon in Drinking Water Information

Private wells are not regulated...

This would put your on the low side of that proposed municiple standard... But higher than the proposed MCL standard.

Various states are also either developing standards or conforming to the proposed 4000 pCi/L maximum. (although some states are higher... Vermont at 5000, Massachusetts at 10,000 for example)

Why is radon in drinking water a health concern?

    Breathing radon in indoor air can cause lung cancer.  Radon gas decays into radioactive particles    that can get trapped in your lungs when you breathe it.  As they break down further, these particles    release small bursts of energy.  This can damage lung tissue and increase your chances of    developing lung cancer over the course of your lifetime.  People who smoke have an even greater    risk.  Not everyone exposed to high levels of radon will develop lung cancer. However, radon in    indoor air is the second leading cause of lung cancer.  About 20,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are    caused by breathing radon in indoor air.

Only about 1-2 percent of radon in the air comes from drinking water.  However  breathing radon increases the risk of lung cancer over the course of your lifetime. Some radon stays in the water; drinking water containing radon also presents a risk of developing internal organ cancers, primarily stomach cancer.  However this risk is smaller than the risk of developing lung cancer from radon released to air from tap water. (ED: via cooking, boiling, showering, etc...)

Based on a National Academy of Science report, EPA estimates that radon in drinking water    causes about 168 cancer deaths per year: 89% from lung cancer caused by breathing radon released to the indoor air from water and 11% from stomach cancer caused by consuming water containing radon.

on the plus side, since the water would be boiled during the brewing process the radon would aerosolize and be driven out. the main concern with household radon it seems is when you shower or cook with it, the radon goes into your houses air.

I'll probably go with RO water and add chemicals when I get into mashing and all grains... seems the best route.

Yeah, at first read I guess I thought we were talking about your well water or household water supply...

I edited my post to reflect otherwise.

By the way, Radon will disipate from water just by letting it stand exposed to the air much like chlorine will.