Results of First School Water Tests for Radionuclides Announced

ENVIRONMENT/LABOUR--Results of First School Water Tests for Radionuclides Announced

A government committee formed to oversee testing for naturally occurring radionuclides in public well water has released the first round of preliminary results of well water tested in the first group of Nova Scotia schools.

At a media briefing today, Aug. 22, the Special Well-Water Advisory Group (SWAG) announced that 40 of the 52 schools tested fell within the Canadian guidelines for naturally occurring radionuclides in drinking water. Twelve of the schools were found to have levels of lead-210 -- a naturally occurring radionuclide -- above Health Canada's guideline for drinking water. In two of these 12 schools, total uranium was also above Health Canada's drinking water guideline.

However, Dr. Robert Strang, medical officer of health for the Capital Health District and a member of the advisory panel, stressed that the levels of radionuclides in the 12 schools do not pose an immediate health risk and that small traces of radiation, even in water, are natural.

"We are all exposed to some level of radiation every day from many natural sources including water, food and the sun. It's a natural occurrence in our lives," said Dr. Strang. "The additional exposure to radiation from drinking water with radionuclides at this level is very, very small, so the health risk from drinking this water is also extremely small."

Pat Wall, chair of the advisory group and the province's senior radiation health officer, said the levels of radiation in the well water are small compared to the amount Canadians receive from other natural sources.

"To put this in perspective, passengers on a single return flight from Halifax to Vancouver would receive a similar dose of radiation as they would from drinking 730 litres of the school water for a full year," he said.

Dr. Strang advised that if people are apprehensive about drinking the water, they can purchase bottled water approved by the Canadian Bottled Water Association or the International Bottled Water Association.

"We will continue to work closely with the Department of Environment and Labour to ensure that we keep people well aware of the situation and of any health-related concerns," said Dr. Strang.

BOTTLED WATER AVAILABLE
In May, bottled water was made available to all schools undergoing testing. School boards will continue to offer bottled water at the principal's request to any school in the testing area whose water does not meet the guidelines.

The Special Well-Water Advisory Group is the first of its kind in Canada to address radionuclides in well water. The team, led by the Department of Environment and Labour, includes representatives from the provincial departments of Health, Education, Natural Resources and Agriculture and Fisheries, and an expert from Health Canada. It has been meeting regularly since June to develop testing plans and protocols.

Mr. Wall said the committee's water-testing strategy calls for three more tests at regular intervals throughout the year to obtain the average levels of lead-210 and two other naturally occurring radionuclides -- total uranium and radium-226. He said that if the average levels of radionuclides are above the guidelines after a full year of testing, a treatment system or another water supply will need to be considered.

Mr. Wall said owners of drilled wells who are concerned should have their water tested for the three main natural radionuclides

• lead-210, total uranium and radium-226.

"Nova Scotia is first off the mark to address this issue on a large scale," said Mr. Wall. "We are monitoring the situation closely and will keep the public up to date throughout the testing process."

The Department of Environment and Labour has set up a toll-free number to answer questions about natural radionuclides in well water. The number, which operates between 8:30 to 4:30, Monday to Friday, is 1-877-9ENVIRO (1-877-936-8476).

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following are the guidelines for naturally occurring radionuclides in drinking water and the levels found in the 12 schools where the guidelines were exceeded. Following that list is a backgrounder on radionuclides in the drinking water at Sir John A. Macdonald High School.

School Lead-210 Total Uranium
(0.10 Bequerels/litre) (20 micrograms/litre) Atlantic Memorial Elementary 0.26 Brookside Junior High 0.16 East St. Margaret's Elementary 0.28 27 Harrietsfield Elementary 0.17 81 Herring Cove Junior High 0.17 Prospect Road Elementary 0.24 Sir John A. Macdonald High 0.20 * St. Margaret's Bay Elementary 0.26 Tantallon Junior High 0.24 Terence Bay Elementary 0.44 William King Elementary 0.35 Big Tancook Elementary 0.22

• Average of three test results.

BACKGROUNDER:
In early spring 2002, a report on an environmental assessment undertaken at Sir John A. Macdonald High School was made public. The results showed that radioactivity levels for lead-210 were slightly above the criteria outlined in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.

School officials contacted Health Canada experts who recommended testing for total uranium, lead-210 and radium-226.

The results of these tests showed that the level of lead-210 was above the guideline. As a result the water was resampled.

At the same time, 13 schools in the vicinity were also tested for all 14 natural radionuclides. Results of these tests showed that 11 of the schools were above the guidelines for lead-210 and two of the 11 were above the criteria for total uranium.

As a precaution, the Department of Education, in consultation with the Southwest Regional School Board and the Department of Environment and Labour, decided to expand testing to include drinking water from 38 other schools from the South Shore and Tri-county districts. Those results showed only one school above the guideline for lead-210.

During this testing process, government created a special advisory group on well water (SWAG). The mandate of this group is to determine the significance of waterborne natural radionuclides in Nova Scotia's drinking water and to formulate a program to prevent Nova Scotians from being exposed to natural radioactivity at levels that exceed Health Canada's guidelines. Membership includes representatives from the provincial departments of Environment and Labour, Health, Agriculture and Fisheries, Education and Natural Resources and from Health Canada.