A final report from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shows that there is no significant risk to human health from radium in landfill leachate. The multi-year study that began in 2021 of all 49 landfills in Pennsylvania found that none had results that were over the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards of 600 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) for discharge from industrial facilities. This study reinforces prior DEP studies finding that there is not a threat of radioactive material in water discharged from wastewater treatment facilities affecting surface waters or drinking water.

We ask Grok to summarize this study. (Red Text is stuff the Know Your H20 Team Added)

https://files.dep.state.pa.us/Waste/Bureau%20of%20Waste%20Management/WasteMgtPortalFiles/SolidWaste/LandfillLeachateStudy/PA%20DEP%20Final%20Radium%20Leachate%20Report.pdf

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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) released the "Radium in Untreated Landfill Leachate Investigation" final report in January 2026. This multi-year study, conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) and the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association (PWIA), follows up on recommendations from the 2016 TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) study. It aimed to characterize radium (specifically Ra-226 and Ra-228) levels in untreated landfill leachate from Pennsylvania's solid waste landfills and assess any potential radiological risks to public health, safety, and the environment, particularly related to disposal of oil and gas waste.

"NORM - Naturally occurring radionuclides and their decay products in the environment."

"TENORM- When NORM is disturbed or altered from natural settings or present in a technologically enhanced state due to past or present human activities and practices, the material is known as TENORM or Technologically enhanced NORM.   This is because there is a concentration or a relative increase in radionuclide concentrations above background radiation levels as a result of changes to the radiological, physical, and chemical properties of the radioactive material."

Learn More:  Radioactive Isotopes

Methods

The study sampled raw, untreated leachate quarterly from 49 permitted landfills (handling municipal, residual, sanitary, and construction/demolition waste) over 8 quarters from December 2021 to September 2023. Samples were collected from leachate collection systems. Primary analysis used gamma spectroscopy (EPA Method 901.1) for all quarterly samples due to cost-effectiveness, with one radiochemistry analysis (EPA Methods 903.1 and 904.0) per landfill for higher accuracy and verification (some retested). Conservative estimates added measurement uncertainties or minimum detectable concentrations (MDCs) when evaluating results. Landfills included those with onsite treatment or discharging to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). No specific landfill names were disclosed; only facility IDs were used.

Key Findings

• No exceedances of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) limit of 600 pCi/L (annual average for total combined radium in untreated wastewater discharged to treatment facilities). The highest conservative annual average was approximately 541 pCi/L (via gamma spectroscopy), with all others lower.
  
  
• Using more precise radiochemistry, 11 of 49 landfills had combined Ra-226 + Ra-228 levels exceeding the U.S. EPA drinking water standard of 5 pCi/L (not directly applicable to untreated leachate, which is never consumed as drinking water and undergoes treatment before discharge). (Thank God we do not drink leachate, but many landfills are located in remote areas that rely on groundwater from private water wells) Levels in these cases ranged up to around 123 pCi/L (with some retests).   Drinking water standard for radium (Learn). 
  
  
• Of these 11:
• 4 accepted oil and gas waste (levels 5.3–8.0 pCi/L).
• 7 did not (levels up to 122.7 pCi/L).
  
  
• Overall averages: ~3.1 pCi/L for landfills accepting >10 tons of oil/gas waste vs. ~15.8 pCi/L for those accepting none.
  
  
• No correlation was found between elevated radium (>5 pCi/L) and acceptance of oil and gas waste. Higher levels in some non-oil/gas landfills may relate to natural background radiation in certain geological areas (e.g., regions with uranium-containing formations like parts of the Marcellus Shale).
  
  
• Results aligned with the 2016 TENORM study, showing generally low radium levels.

Conclusions

DEP concluded that no levels of radiation identified in the study raised concerns for environmental protection or public health and safety. No results suggested a need for landfill actions, changes to engineering controls, or operational protocols. Treated leachate discharges remain below relevant limits (e.g., NRC 60 pCi/L for direct surface water discharge of treated effluent). The agency emphasized that raw leachate is not drinking water and is treated before environmental release.

Recommendations

The data set is limited (primarily one radiochemistry sample per landfill), so DEP recommends at least 4 additional quarters of radiochemistry sampling at all 49 landfills to build a larger, more accurate dataset. This will better assess radium levels, compare landfills accepting vs. not accepting oil/gas waste, and inform potential future adjustments to sampling requirements, TENORM disposal protocols, or controls.

Recent news coverage (March 2026) of the report's release reinforces DEP's position: there is no significant risk to human health from radium in landfill leachate, with results well below industrial discharge standards and no threat from treated discharges to surface waters or drinking water sources.

Get Your Drinking Water Tested  !

More Information

Radionuclides in Water 

Can Water Itself Be Radioactive ?