Firm presents plan to filter radioactive water
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - The township will be fitting a pair of wells with de-ionizing filters in order to bring its water within EPA-mandated safety standards for radium contamination.

During the Township Council's workshop meeting on Tuesday, representatives from Bridgewater-based Layne Christensen Co., which has previously performed radium treatments for several state municipalities such as Vineland and Washington Township, presented a plan to bring down radium levels in wells 11 and 13, both located in Dayton. According to the firm's vice president of water resources, Michael Havener, work should take seven months and cost $2.9 million.

In May, township residents were informed that the radium levels in the wells were in excess of federal safety guidelines. The radium levels of the wells in question were found to be between 6.6 and 7.7 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), where EPA standards allow 5. The gross alpha radiation levels were found to be between 20 and 27 pCi/L, where the EPA standards allow 15.

According to the township, the water does not present an immediate health concern, but excessive consumption might carry a long-term cancer risk. According to South Brunswick Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz, the two wells involved have been out of service for almost two years and were used to supplement water supplies in the summer peak months when they were active.

The process used to absorb the radium from the water was invented by the Dow Chemical Co. in the 1980s for treating mining wastewater. Havner explained the mechanism to the council.

"It's a pretty simple process. There's two pressure vessels, very similar to the existing carbon system that's actually operating in well 11 at this point, except instead of carbon in the vessels, there's this radium selective complex material. Water is pumped to the top of the pressure vessel, passes through, and the radium is absorbed and precipitated into that exchange medium, an ion exchange medium. Clean water comes out the bottom and in a period of time, about three to five years, that material will need to be replaced. It's taken out in either [Utah or Washington State] as local radioactive waste," Havener said.

He said that it would be the township's responsibility to change the filter when needed, though the company will provide assistance when needed.

Michael Donato, the firm's operations manager, said that while the process of fitting new equipment for wells might normally take years, due to the company manufacturing its own equipment and maintaining its own staff to do the work, they can get the job done in a fraction of that time.

"We're in total control of the operation, which allows us to respond much quicker than anyone else can," Donato said.

Time is certainly of the essence for South Brunswick. When the Department of Environmental Protection learned of the radium situation in the wells, it put a hold on all construction approvals until the wells are fixed. According to Mayor Frank Gambatese, about 56 other municipalities in New Jersey have received similar notices. He said that it is therefore vitally important to get this done as soon as possible.

"These are valuable assets to all the residents of our town, but it [this situation] also prevents us from expanding our business and residential community because we're on a non-buildable order from the state, so we have to correct this," Gambatese said.