The chemistry of Norwegian groundwaters: I. The distribution of radon, major and minor elements in 1604 crystalline bedrock groundwaters

A quality-controlled hydrogeochemical dataset of 1604 groundwater samples from Norwegian crystalline bedrock aquifers has been obtained and subject to analyses of radon (scintillation counting), major and minor elements (ion chromatography and ICP-AES), pH and alkalinity. Cumulative probability curv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 1998-10, Vol.222 (1-2), p.71-91
Main Authors: Banks, David, Frengstad, Bjørn, Midtgård, Aase Kjersti, Krog, Jan Reidar, Strand, Terje
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Boreholes
Calcium - analysis
Chlorides - analysis
Crystalline bedrock
Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Exact sciences and technology
Fluoride
Fluorides - analysis
Geography
Groundwater
Groundwaters
Health
Hydrochemistry
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Metals - analysis
Natural water pollution
Nitrates - analysis
Norway
Pollution
Pollution, environment geology
Radon
Radon - analysis
Silicon - analysis
Sodium - analysis
Water - chemistry
Water treatment and pollution
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Summary:A quality-controlled hydrogeochemical dataset of 1604 groundwater samples from Norwegian crystalline bedrock aquifers has been obtained and subject to analyses of radon (scintillation counting), major and minor elements (ion chromatography and ICP-AES), pH and alkalinity. Cumulative probability curves may be constructed to assess the risk of given parameters violating drinking water norms. Parameters such as radon and fluoride show clear lithological correlation, occurring at high concentrations in granites and low concentrations in anorthosites. Other parameters exhibit a lower degree of correlation with aquifer geochemistry (e.g. pH, major ions) and are likely to be governed by more universal thermodynamic equilibria (the calcium carbonate system) and kinetic factors. On a national basis 13.9% of the bedrock groundwaters exceed the recommended action level for radon, while 16.1% exceed the drinking water norm for fluoride. Considering pH, sodium, radon and fluoride together, 29.9% of all wells violate drinking water maximum concentrations for one or more of these parameters.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00291-5