Relation between road-salt application and increasing radium concentrations in a low-pH aquifer, southern New Jersey
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Abstract
The Kirkwood–Cohansey aquifer in southern New Jersey is an important source of drinking-water supplies, but the availability of the resource is limited in some areas by high concentrations of radium, a potential carcinogen at elevated concentrations. Radium (226Ra plus 228Ra) concentrations from a network of 25 drinking-water wells showed a statistically significant increase over a decadal time scale (p < 0.05), with a median increase of 0.35 picocuries per liter. Increases in Ra are correlated with road-salt application rates, and we hypothesize that the correlation is causal. Geochemical processes associated with road-salt applications that can mobilize Ra into solution include competition by excess sodium for sorption sites and formation of chloride complexes (RaCl+ and RaCl2). The largest increases in Ra were in groundwater with low pH (≤5), which is an indirect surrogate for low cation-sorption capacity. Correlations with other potential anthropogenic causes for the increase in Ra were not observed, further suggesting a road-salt effect. Given the significant increase in Ra concentrations in this drinking-water source, the known carcinogenic risks from Ra, the direct link to road-salt application, and the likelihood for continued increases, additional monitoring is necessary in areas with similar hydrogeologic and geochemical settings.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Relation between road-salt application and increasing radium concentrations in a low-pH aquifer, southern New Jersey |
| Series title | Environmental Science and Technology Water |
| DOI | 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00307 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Year Published | 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society |
| Contributing office(s) | National Water Quality Assessment Program, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, WMA - Earth System Processes Division |
| Description | 7 p. |
| First page | 2541 |
| Last page | 2547 |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
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