Tapcensus

Radium-226 violations in Massachusetts

4 active public water systems in Massachusetts had a Radium-226 violation in the past three years. What Radium-226 is and why it matters.

Health effects: Radium-226 accumulates in bone tissue and delivers a sustained alpha radiation dose internally. Long-term exposure increases risk of bone cancer, and historic occupational data from radium dial painters established the carcinogenic mechanism. Children absorb more radium due to active bone growth, making them most vulnerable to skeletal radiation effects.

Systems with a Radium-226 violation

Latest quarter first, then largest first
SystemServesStatusRules violated, 3 yrUnresolved
Salisbury Water Division
Salisbury · Essex County 		9,334 1 0
Barre Water Department
Barre · Worcester County 		2,610 5 0
Andrews Farm Water Co.,inc.
Boxford · Essex County 		150 10 6
Maynard State LLC
Westport · Bristol County 		35 1 0
About this data

A system is counted once if any of its violations in the past three years involved Radium-226, including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the table are for the whole system, not Radium-226 alone.

Source: the U.S. EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online system (ECHO), which publishes the federal Safe Drinking Water Information System. EPA's terms and values are shown as published. The Massachusetts records are from EPA's data refresh of Oct 7, 2026; EPA refreshes this data quarterly, and states report to EPA with a lag of three to six months, so the newest violations may not appear yet.