Utilities have access to AWWA radionuclides guidance

DENVER — The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has released criteria to help utilities comply with the federal radionuclide rule, according to a press release.

Utilities are challenged to meet "the performance limitations associated with the existing approved analytical methods for radionuclides, such as gross alpha activity, radium-226 (226Ra), and radium-228 (228Ra)," noted the release.

AWWA’s Radionuclide Rule Compliance: Utility Guidance on Analytical Methods is designed to assist utilities with these challenges, stated the release. With the guidelines, utilities can:

• evaluate performance of laboratories as pre-qualifications for bids when maximum accuracy is important
• set requirements for bid documents to ensure that labs understand the requirements
• let utilities evaluate the data upon receipt to ensure that the laboratory met the requirements

Flow chart and tables are also included in the materials, reported the release, to support utilities in obtaining the best quality data.

You can find the entire release here.