DURHAM, N.C. – Local and national experts will gather at 91 on Oct. 4 for a one-day workshop to examine the health risks posed by radon accumulation in private wells and other groundwater supplies in North Carolina. 

The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Duke’s campus.  It is sponsored by Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences in conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the North Carolina Division of Radiation Protection and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive, carcinogenic gas that can accumulate in indoor air and groundwater supplies at levels that may pose risk to human health. 

Studies have shown that most private wells in the piedmont and mountain regions of North Carolina contain radon levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recommended maximum contaminant level of 300 picocuries per liter.  A picocurie is a unit of measurement used to gauge radioactive activity.

“During the last decade, a lot of attention has been paid to educating the public about the risks of radon in indoor air spaces.  But much less attention has been focused on determining the health risks and so-called ‘safe’ levels of radon in household water,” said workshop organizer Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences at the Nicholas School.

“The purpose of this workshop is to assess these risks and review what can be done to improve current federal and state policies designed to protect people,” Vengosh said. 

Speakers will come from the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Iowa and other top research universities and government agencies.

Radon-rich groundwater typically is associated with rocks naturally rich in uranium, such as granite and granitic gneisses, which are common in the piedmont and mountains of North Carolina and in many regions worldwide. 

The free workshop is intended primarily for public health officials, policymakers and scientists, but members of the public are welcome.  Advance registration is required.  
For more information, contact Vengosh at (919) 681-8050 or vengosh@duke.edu, or Ted Campbell at (828) 296-4683 or ted.Campbell@ncmail.net.