Measurement of 222Rn and 226Ra in municipal supply tap water to evaluate their radiological impacts

• Published in: International journal of environmental analytical chemistry 2019-09, Vol.99 (11), p.1069-1077
• Main Author: İçhedef, Mutlu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: annual effective dose; Carcinogens; Drinking water; Ingestion; Inhalation; Radioisotopes; Radium; Radium 226; Radium isotopes; Radium radioisotopes; Radon; Radon isotopes; Respiration; water
• ISSN: 0306-7319; 1029-0397
• DOI: 10.1080/03067319.2019.1609461

Radon ( 222 Rn) and its parent radionuclide Radium ( 226 Ra) are classified as carcinogen. Human exposes to radon in water via inhalation and ingestion, although ingestion is the only way for radium to enter the human body. In this research, tap water collected from Bornova distinct was studied to determine the concentration of radon ( 222 Rn) and radium ( 226 Ra) for evaluating their radiological impact. For this reason, the annual effective doses for ingestion and inhalation were estimated. The measurements were performed using a collector chamber method. The mean concentrations of 222 Rn and 226 Ra were determined as 0.85 and 0.76 Bq/L, respectively. It can be stated that the 222 Rn and 226 Ra concentrations of tap waters here are lower than the international reference levels. Obtained concentration levels were applied to estimate annual effective dose due to the inhalation and ingestion. The dose values are also found to be lower than the recommended maximum values. On the other hand, it should be considered that consumption of these waters (2 L) and average radon and radium concentrations of water are the significant factors for estimating doses.