Question:
The municipal water department has two plans to reduce the amount of radium in the borough's drinking water, which is above federal safe-exposure levels. any ideas?

Answer: According to Water Department Director Sandy Triolo, samples of the borough's drinking water taken from June 1998 to January 1999 revealed the gross alpha activity, an indicator of the amount of radium in a water supply, was 16.5 picocuries per liter.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has set a maximum level for gross alpha activity at 15 picocuries per liter, Triolo said.

The EPA has determined that radium poses health risks at certain levels of exposure, according to a legal notice Triolo's office placed in area newspapers. Experts would expect to see an additional cancer case in one of every 10,000 people who drink two liters of water a day containing a gross alpha activity of 15 picocuries per liter for 70 years. Because Sayreville's levels are slightly higher, the risk of exposure would also be higher, Triolo said.

"Man has always been exposed to natural radiation from water, food and air," the notice said. "Water of high radioactivity is unusual; nevertheless, it is known to exist in certain areas from natural sources."