Charles A. Cravotta III Zoltan Szabo Kenneth Belitz Paul E. Stackelberg Bruce D. Lindsey 2021 <div class="container container_scaled-down"><div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12"><div id="abstractBox" class="article_abstract-content hlFld-Abstract"><p class="articleBody_abstractText">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<span>&nbsp;</span>²²⁸Ra) concentrations from a network of 25 drinking-water wells showed a statistically significant increase over a decadal time scale (<i>p</i><span>&nbsp;</span>&lt; 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⁺<span>&nbsp;</span>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.</p></div></div></div></div> application/pdf 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00307 en American Chemical Society Relation between road-salt application and increasing radium concentrations in a low-pH aquifer, southern New Jersey article