But I don't think our it will have much of an impact on the rates of our 6,500 customers." If they don't work, we'll have to consider other measures that are more expensive. "The measures we're taking are the least expensive. "We drink it all the time here at the office," he said. Jeff Hodge, Donala's general manager, said that his district's water is safe for consumption, too. Everyone should understand that the water is safe to drink." KRDO "We have only 1,400 customers, so we think we can keep the radium levels low.
"Most of the radium comes from one of our wells that we keep shut down except for quarterly testing," said Tom Tharnish, the town's public works director. The town of Monument is spending $1.5 million on a new filtration system, even though officials said that they have been able to keep the radium level within federally acceptable limits. KRDOĭonala is one of two Monument-area water districts dealing with high radium levels that have been an ongoing issue.
KRDOĭonala said it also will test all of its wells for radium and expect to have results back in October.Īlso being planned is chemical water treatment, in which chemicals cause radium to collect in larger particles that can be filtered out.ĭonala said that addressing the radium problem shouldn't significantly affect water rates for its customers the goal is to lower radium levels well below the EPA standard or remove it entirely. To address the problem, Donala has reduced or stopped drawing water from wells and treatment plants having the highest radium levels, and is using more surface water that is treated and supplied by Colorado Springs Utilities. The higher radium level is believed to be caused by increased water demand stirring up radium that occurs naturally in the Arapahoe Basin aquifer that provides the area with groundwater for human use and consumption. Humans store radium in their bones, where it can continue to release radiation, so limiting exposure is important. Donala's notice said that long-term consumption could pose increased cancer risks to pregnant women, infants, elderly and people with compromised immune systems the notice also advised people in the high-risk category to see their doctors about drinking contaminated water. ^ "Medical Collectors Association - Newsletter 20" (PDF).Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Friends Alarmed to Find Mayor Has Been Drinking Radium-Charged Water for Last Six Months". Maker of "Radithor" Denies It Killed Byers, as Does Victim's Physician in Pittsburgh. Health Department Checks Drug Wholesalers. ^ "Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'."When 'energy' drinks actually contained radioactive energy". ^ Literary Digest, 16 April 1932 Archived 3 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine.1990) describing the Byers incident was titled "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off". īyers's death led to the strengthening of the Food and Drug Administration's powers and the demise of most radiation-based patent medicines. As a comparison, the roughly 0.0169 g of potassium-40 present in a typical human body produces approximately 4,400 becquerels. Byers was buried in a lead-lined coffin when exhumed in 1965 for study, his remains were still highly radioactive and measured at 225,000 becquerels. Įben Byers, a wealthy American socialite, athlete, industrialist and Yale College graduate, died from Radithor radium poisoning in 1932. The expensive product was claimed to cure impotence, among other ills. It was advertised as "A Cure for the Living Dead" as well as "Perpetual Sunshine". Bailey, a dropout from Harvard College, who was not a medical doctor. The owner of the company and head of the laboratories was listed as William J. Radithor was manufactured from 1918 to 1928 by the Bailey Radium Laboratories, Inc., of East Orange, New Jersey.
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