Radon in groundwater in Finland

In Finland, arsenic and radon are the substances which cause the worst groundwater quality prob-lems in individual private wells.

Occurrence of radon

Radon is common in the groundwater of rock areas where the bedrock is uranium-rich granite. In Finland the concentration of radon is too high in almost half of the private-drilled wells. The natural radioactivity in these wells is evidently higher in Finland than in other parts of Europe.

Removal of radon from groundwater

Radon can be removed from drinking water in private households either by aeration or granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration. Both methods have been studied at the Finnish Environment In-stitute and the results have been published in Finnish articles.