The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

Did you know?

Radium Cannot Be Seen, Smelled or Tasted

The only way to know if your community is facing an issue with radium is rigorous testing. Elevated radium levels in the water supply can be mitigated. A number of treatment methods are available to remove radium from water. Here are three proven and recommended methods that any city or town should consider when dealing with elevated radium levels.

Tip 1 – Ion Exchange treatment happens when water is passed through a resin containing exchangeable ions. Stronger binding ions displace weaker binding ions and are removed from the water. There are two types of ion exchange—anion exchange and cation exchange. Anion exchange resins generally exchange chloride for anionic contaminants, like uranium. Cation exchange resins generally exchange sodium or potassium for cationic contaminants, such as radium.

Tip 2 – Adsorption treatment systems add a cleansing substance directly to the water supply or via a mixing basin. Adsorbents combine chemical and physical processes to remove organic contaminants and the compounds that impart color, taste and odor to water. The most commonly-used adsorbent is activated carbon—a substance which is quite similar to common charcoal.

Tip 3 – Reverse Osmosis is highly effective in removing several impurities from water such as total dissolved solids, turbidity, asbestos, lead and other toxic heavy metals, radium and many dissolved organics. The (RO) process will remove chlorine and can also remove nuclear radiation from drinking water.

To learn more, read our article Elevated Levels of Radium in the Water Supply, and contact us for advice and recommendations about the best ways to alleviate the impact of radium.