Uranium found in Stamford well water

Jason Glenn labels well watersamples to be tested for pesticides, arsenic and uranium at the Heath Department Laboratory at Government Center in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Jason Glenn labels well watersamples to be tested for pesticides, arsenic and uranium at the Heath Department Laboratory at Government Center in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Photo: Lindsay Perry Buy photo Photo: Lindsay Perry Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Uranium found in Stamford well water 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Stamford -- Health officials are urging homeowners to test their drinking water after 70 percent of five dozen private wells sampled since the beginning of the year tested positive for uranium contamination.

Uranium is a naturally occurring element that can seep into drinking wells through nearby bedrock. People who are exposed to high levels of uranium for a sustained period of time are susceptible to kidney problems, said state Department of Public Health Epidemiologist Brian Toal.

"The primary health risk for uranium is potential damage to the kidney," Toal said. "It's really not a radioactive hazard, even though it's a radioactive element. Therefore, it's not considered a large cancer risk."

Stamford, which has offered subsidized well-water testing for carcinogenic pesticides since March 2012, recently added heavy metals contaminants to the list. The Health Department has tested 60 private wells for arsenic and uranium so far this year; 42 samples contained uranium.

Fourteen wells, or about 23 percent of the five dozen tested, contained uranium contamination in concentrations at or above the recommended federal health limit of 30 micrograms per liter.

"In Stamford, the percentage of wells that have been found over the (federal health) standard are quite high," Toal said. "At the levels we're seeing in well water, we would not expect to see people with overt kidney damage or problems. But if someone has a very high level, it's a good recommendation for them to go see a doctor."

Toal characterized "very high" uranium concentrations as 100 to 300 micrograms per liter. Several years ago, a private well in Newtown tested positive for uranium at levels exceeding 900 micrograms per liter.

The family of six had their kidney functions tested and one child demonstrated a "slight abnormality," which went away after several months of drinking clean water, Toal said.

More Information About the program

Homeowners pay a flat $100 fee to participate in the city's well water testing program.

To sign up, call the Health Department's hotline at 203-977-0816 and leave your name, address and telephone number.

"In most instances (uranium poisoning) is reversible," he said. "There's a fairly simple test that can be done to check your kidney function. But for most people, we'd say just stop drinking the water and you'll be fine."

It's not clear how widespread uranium contamination is statewide, Toal said. The state health department is coordinating water testing across 30 to 40 towns and expects to complete the study this fall.

"We get calls for isolated reports all over the state," he said. "We think it occurs in pockets, and that it's higher in some places than others, but we don't have a complete picture yet."

The Stamford Health Department has been sampling private drinking wells for two years, but only began offering arsenic and uranium testing Jan. 1.

"Even if you tested before for pesticides and volatile organic compounds, you need to test again," said Director Anne Fountain. "You don't know what you're going to find until you test."

So far arsenic, which was detected in the drinking water of 81 Weston homes last year, has only been found in one Stamford well, Health Laboratory Director Jim Federici said.

Stamford is the first municipality in the state to embark on widespread, subsidized testing of private well water. The program, which costs the city about $60,000 annually, is scheduled to run through the end of 2015.

Stamford began investigating well-water contamination in May 2009, when chlordane and dieldrin were discovered in North Stamford private drinking water. Originally, city officials thought a nearby polluted landfill was the source, but local and state health officials now believe the contamination, which has been found in private wells all over the city, is linked to historic pesticide use.

To date, the Health Department has tested 1,261 of Stamford's 5,000 private wells for pesticides, which were detected in about 13 percent, Federici said. Fewer than 2 percent of all wells tested contained chlordane in levels exceeding recommended health standards, while about 3 percent tested positive for high levels of dieldrin.

City Rep. Gail Okun urged residents to sign up for the city's testing program, but stressed that it's up to homeowners to pay for any necessary filtration systems.

"There's no reason to panic," said Okun, vice chairwoman of the Board of Representatives' Water Supply Committee. "If you find that the naturally occurring uranium is present, you do what you have to do to make sure it's remediated."

Treatment systems for pesticide and heavy metal contamination are different, Fountain said.

"Even if you have a filter for the pesticides, it's a totally different filtration system for uranium," she said.

Remediation for pesticide contamination involves installing a granular carbon-activated filter that costs about $1,600 and treats the entire house's water supply.

Uranium only poses a health risk when it is ingested, however, so homeowners can attach filters directly to their kitchen faucets to treat the water they cook with and drink.

"Uranium is not a risk for bathing, showering and inhalation," Toal said. "It's OK to brush your teeth with it."

Karen DeFalco, president of the neighborhood advocacy group North Stamford Concerned Citizens for the Environment, said she tests her well water every year.

"We cannot take for granted what's in our water," DeFalco said. "It's important that we test and keep testing. You might have been fine one year and you might not be fine the next year. It's about being proactive."

Homeowners pay a flat $100 fee to participate in the city's well-water-testing program.