Harrisburg, PA – A final report from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shows that there is no significant risk to human health from radium in landfill leachate. The multi-year study of all 49 landfills in Pennsylvania found that none had results that were over the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards of 600 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) for discharge from industrial facilities. This study reinforces prior DEP studies finding that there is not a threat of radioactive material in water discharged from wastewater treatment facilities affecting surface waters or drinking water.
“Pennsylvania is a national leader when it comes to regulating radioactive materials in landfills. We were the first state in the nation to require monitoring of waste as it enters a landfill and this study is the result of rigorous testing of every landfill in the state, with secondary confirmatory analysis to make sure that the results were accurate,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “The takeaway here is that there is no risk to human health from radiation in landfill leachate.”
Landfill leachate is the collected rainwater that falls on landfills and filters through the accumulated waste. It is collected and either treated on-site or sent to a treatment facility before being discharged into a stream or river.
In 2021, at the urging of then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro, DEP began a new comprehensive leachate testing study at all 49 landfills in Pennsylvania. Two years (eight quarters) of sample results of raw, untreated leachate were analyzed using a technique called gamma spectroscopy to measure radioactivity in the raw leachate. Once all samples were analyzed, a confirmatory analysis on one round of sample results was conducted using a technique called radiochemistry. The analyses showed that none of the landfills in Pennsylvania exceeded the annual average of 600 pCi/L limit for discharges from industrial facilities established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and in most cases, the results were far lower.
Of the landfills sampled, only 11 had radium levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 5 pCi/L limit that is used for drinking water. Raw, untreated leachate is not considered drinking water and should never be consumed.
Radioactive material in landfills can come from various sources. The most common sources are medical waste, primarily waste from cancer treatments, and oil and gas waste, which contains naturally occurring radioactive materials that are brought to the surface. Another source of radioactivity in landfills is naturally occurring radon gas, which is odorless and colorless, and is present in high concentrations in some parts of Pennsylvania due to unique geological formations.
In 2000, Pennsylvania became the first state to require landfills to monitor incoming waste for radioactive materials. Landfills in Pennsylvania have conservative limits on the amount of radioactive waste they can accept. These amounts will vary based on a number of factors, including how much radioactive material has already been accepted by a landfill.
DEP is recommending an additional 4 quarters of sampling and analysis using radiochemistry to provide a larger data set. The additional data will serve to inform future decisions to revisit landfill leachate sampling requirements and other operational or engineering controls if necessary to protect public health, safety and the environment.
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