Assessment of radon content in water using SMART RnDuo in Mizoram, Northeast India

Abstract

Radon is a radioactive inert gas that is produced naturally from the decay of uranium to radium. As it is formed, it is released into air or water-containing pores between soil and rock particles. From soil and rock natural forces move it into the earth and it dissolves in groundwater. This is of great medical concern as environmental radon is one of the major causes of dangerous health problems such as lung cancer. Measurements of radon content in water was carried out in the northeastern part of India namely Aizawl district and Kolasib district of Mizoram using SMART RnDuo. About 30 sources of water were examined in each district during the winter of 2017. Water samples were collected from stream water, spring water, pump water, open well, pond and Government supplied water. Radon content in water from Aizawl district ranges between 0.309 Bq/L to 32.53 Bq/L, and those from Kolasib district the range is 1.11 Bq/L to 22.18 Bq/ L. The overall average content of radon in water was found to be 6.88 Bq/L. The radon content measured for most of the sources were found to be well within the range which is considered safe (EPA 1998) except for few samples analysed.

Scenario of radon alpha activity level in natural drinking waters of different regions of eastern part of India: A review report

“…The geothermal springs or hot-water springs are present in the states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of the eastern part of India (https://geographyandyou.com/hot-water-spri ngs-in-india/) (21) . Various research studies determined the radioactivity levels in spring waters in different region of eastern part of India (24)(25)(26) . A study reported that the presence of helium in thermal springs of Odisha state is possibly due to disintegration of radioactive elements in Pre-cambrian terrain (27) .…”

“…Assessment of radon content in 64 water samples from different water sources in two districts of Aizawl and Kolasib of the state of Mizoram has been conducted in a study (25) . The water samples examined in this study have been collected from stream https://www.indjst.org/ water, spring water, pump water, open well, pond and from government supplied water.…”