Water Contaminants
Radon
Although the dangers of radon gas in the home have been well publicized over the last few years, few homeowners think of it coming in through their water supply. Even fewer have their water tested for radon.
Radon gas is created when the radioactive mineral radium degrades. Radium leaches from radium bearing rock formations (such as granite) into the water. Radon will quickly escape from water as soon as it hits the air. As water is run in the home, the gas separates from the water and is inhaled.
The State of Maine recommended limit for radon is less than 4000 pCi/L for drinking water. Up to 1/3 of all wells in Maine have radon gas over 4000 pCi/L.
A major health concern is the exposure to radiation. Elevated radioactive intake has been found to cause genetic disorders, birth defects, and many types of cancer such as stomach, liver and brain cancer. Radon gas may cause lung cancer and the longer you are exposed, the higher your risk.
If your water is found to contain above the recommended levels of Radon, we may recommend installing either a Carbon Filter or Bubble-Up System to treat your water.
Radon Bubble-Up System
To remove radon from a water system it is a matter of releasing the gas in a safe manner. Your water is aerated and blown inside of the system. The radon is bubbled up and out, so that clean water is delivered to your home. The radon gas is vented outside over the roof of your home. A radon Bubble-Up System takes up less space than a standard size washing machine.
Carbon Filter
If you have ongoing sulfur issues, other unpleasant tastes or odors, chlorine, MTBEs or radon (levels less than 4,000 pCi/L only), a carbon filter may be needed.
This filter consists of a mineral tank filled with media (often referred to as a bed) and a control head. As your water passes through the filter, the impurities in your water are attracted to the media particles inside the tank. The particles attach to the media inside the tank, removing them from the water before it exits the filter.
Eventually the media inside the tank becomes saturated, so the timer on the head of the system is set to automatically backwash the filter every few days to clean out the media inside the tank.
If there is a power outage, or after daylight savings, you will need to reset the timer. This is important to reset because you don’t want to unknowingly use water during a backwash cycle. Please see the Resetting Backwash Cycle page for timer resetting instructions.
Carbon filters require very little maintenance but the media bed inside the tank does eventually wear out. The media will need to be replaced every 2–5 years, depending on the level of impurities and amount of water used daily.
For more information about Radon, visit the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s Maine Radon Homepage.
Call Haskell’s Water Treatment Inc. today at (207) 594-4947 or 1 (800) 244-4947 for more information about Radon treatment.