Lead in Your Drinking Water? Radon in your building?

Lead in drinking water has been in the news nationally, as well as here locally in Portland, Oregon. In fact, the levels of lead in drinking water in Portland are close to the federal top allowable safe amount. Portland has until August, yes, next month, to come up with a plan of action on how to correct this problem.

Lead can get into drinking water in a couple ways. The first way is when lead is present in the water source, particularly in instances of contaminated runoff or water pollution. However, the most common way is the interaction between water and corroded plumbing materials which contain lead. Common plumbing materials containing lead include pipes, solder and brass fixing or faucets.

If you live in a home or work in a building in Portland built between 1970 and 1985, there is a good chance that you have excessive amounts of lead in your drinking water. This also applies to schools and parks built during the same years. Comprehensive testing is the only way to know and fortunately for our customers, G2 is equipped very advanced lead testing equipment that is fast and cost effective.

The investigative reporters for The Oregonian state that “meeting the home based lead problem will take creativity and ingenuity.” This is where G2’s consulting services come into play. G2 is currently assisting public and private entities throughout the Portland metro area to address concerns related to lead.

Radon in my building?

Radon is another hot topic in the news, and for good reason. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is a known human carcinogen. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other scientific organizations believe that approximately 12% of lung cancers annually are attributed to radon, which is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

Portland Public Schools has been under fire after testing results came out that there are many school building that exceed healthy allowable radon levels. Homes in the Portland area also often show high levels of radon. Radon is most harmful when inhaled over time. Given that radon gas is both odorless and colorless, the only way to identify it is through testing.

G2 has experience developing comprehensive sampling strategies to identify and quantify the presence of lead in drinking water and radon in our clients’ buildings. If present, G2 can provide recommendations for corrective actions and risk mitigation.

Beyond lead in drinking water, G2 can assist with the identification of lead in other materials, such as paint and soil. It’s not uncommon to find playgrounds that have equipment coated in lead based paint, or community gardens with lead contamination issues in the soil. Every type of environmental and safety situation is unique, which is why G2 tailors short-term and permanent solutions to meet the needs of our clients.

Feel free to contact us for any of your health and safety problems. We’re here to help.