Estimating the Cost of Compliance With the Drinking Water Standard for Radon

Compliance with recently proposed maximum contaminant levels for radon is likely to involve a significant expenditure for the US public water supply industry. More than 30,000 utilities are expected to find that their groundwater supplies exceed the proposed limit of 300 pCi/L. The authors of this article have estimated that the costs of installing and operating radon removal technologies across the United States will amount to $2.5 billion/year, with more than two thirds of those costs being borne by the veiy small water systems that serve 500 or fewer people.