Monaco said it's not known whether this type of radium presents a health threat, and that further tests are needed. In any event, purifying the water is a relatively easy process, he said. Tests on Toms River's water last year, revealed the presence of radium in drinking water for the first time. Radium, a naturally occurring radioactive element, is a known cause of bone and nasal cancers, and is especially dangerous to children, who have developing bone tissue. When radium is ingested, the body mistakes it for calcium and deposits it in the bones.
Radium gets into the water because of pollution from fertilizer and lime used on the land.
When chemicals from the fertilizers sink into the ground, they bring radium deposits along with them and help radium move into the water. It would dissipate in water samples before government officials would analyze them. Because the samples from Toms River were analyzed quickly, the isotope was found. Because of the problems in New Jersey, now we know it's true. Since the results in Toms River, the federal government has been testing water in 27 states.