Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments required EPA to establish several new, health-based drinking water regulations, including a multimedia approach to address the public health risks from radon.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
They will not apply to systems that rely on surface water where radon levels in the water are very low. They also will not apply to private wells, because EPA does not regulate them. The unique multimedia framework for this proposed regulation is outlined in the Safe Drinking Water Act as amended in 1996 . EPA is encouraging States to adopt this option because it is the most cost-effective way to achieve the greatest radon risk reduction. L standard would not be required to treat their water for radon.