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    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 that began in 2021 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.

    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.

    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. This page will be updated with additional findings as they become available.