Assessment of radiation dose hazards caused by radon and its progenies in tap water by the human dosimetric model

Abstract

Radon is readily soluble in water, and radon exposure caused by household water consumption may pose a threat to public health. In this study, the radon concentration in the tap water of residential buildings was measured, and the average value was 543.33 mBq L−1, which was in line with the radon concentration limit recommended by USEPA (11.11 Bq L−1) and EURATOM (100 Bq L−1), and also within the range of the results of radon concentration measurements in tap water in other countries or regions. Through water bath heating at different temperatures, the radon retention curves of multiple groups of samples at different temperatures were fitted and analyzed. The results showed that the radon retention continued to decrease between 25 and 70 °C, remained stable between 70 and 85 °C, and then continued to decline slowly. Combined with the measurement results, the effective doses of α- and β-particles emitted by 222Rn and its progenies to residents respiratory and alimentary tissues and organs were calculated using the computational model provided by ICRP under two typical water scenarios of shower and drinking water, and the results show that radon exposure caused by normal water consumption will not pose a serious threat to public health.

A study on measuring the 222Rn in the Buriganga River and tap water of the megacity Dhaka

“…Therefore, these may be the leading causes of the lower 222 Rn level in the tap water of Dhaka city. Moreover, the result of this study is consistent with many studies conducted in China [ 11 ], Thailand [ 7 ], Palestine [ 43 ], Malaysia [ 46 ], and India [ 48 ].…”

“…Moreover, the result of this study is consistent with many studies conducted in China [11], Thailand [7], Palestine [43], Malaysia [46], and India [48].…”

“…For this reason, the 222 Rn gas hardly emanates from the water, so the 222 Rn level was higher than the others. However, all the samples contained lower 222 Rn levels than both the maximum contamination limit (MCL) of 11.1 Bq/L set by USEPA and the safe limit of 100 Bq/L recommended by the WHO [11,[42][43][44].…”

“…Therefore, these may be the leading causes of the lower 222 Rn level in the tap water of Dhaka city. Bitlis, Turkey 0.59 to 66.00 [42] Xinjiang, China 0.543 [11] Chiang Mai, Thailand 0.18-1.13 [7] Sabzevaran fault, Iran 17.12 [45] Zarand, Iran 5.16 to 14.4 [47] Kabini River Basin, India 8.5 [48] Sik, Malaysia 0.0171 ± 0.0036 [4] Giresun University, Turkey 0.98 to 27.28 [49] Rajasthan, India 0.5 to 15 [50] Kedah, Malaysia 7.0 ± 0.71 [51] Bihor, Romania 6.9 [52] Nablus, Palestine 1.0 [43] Bursa, Turkey 0.91 to 12.58 [53] Kenya 37 [12] Dhaka, Bangladesh…”

“…Numerous studies have been performed worldwide to measure the 222 Rn level in various water resources such as tap water, river water, deep well water, bore well water, bottled water, etc. [ 1 , 3 , 7 , 11 , 12 ]. Several advanced countries have a national reference limit of radon in water and indoor air to ensure radiological safety for public health.…”