Factors Influencing Radon (<sup>222</sup>Ra) Levels of Water: An International Comparison

Abstract

Radon levels were measured in 59 water samples of rural and urban places of Bangalore city following procedures of standardized techniques. Though water level of radon above 100 Bqll −1 of WHO is ascribed to causes of lung cancer and leukaemia, very low levels were found in different urban and rural places, but urban-rural gradient observed significantly higher urban levels than rural levels. Correlation between depth of water sampled and radon levels estimated indicates that in urban places, lower water depth is related to higher radon levels, while it is vice versa in rural. It is due to more water use for rural agriculture and more urban water pollution and granite quarries. In comparison to other countries, it is observed that water radon levels are at wide ranges from the lowest to the highest estimated with different techniques and differ due to types of water, soil, rocks and sampling season.

Radon Levels and Risk Assessment due to its Ingestion and Inhalation from Groundwater of Lapai, North-Central Nigeria

“…Radon ( 222 Rn) is a colorless, odorless, and inert alphaemitting gas soluble in water and absorbed by underground water when released from surrounding soil and rocks. Its concentration in underground water depends on factors such as temperature, type of surrounding rock formation, and environmental pollution (Nagaraja et al, 2019;Nakasone et al, 2021;Yong et al, 2021). In addition, the radon concentration in groundwater is subject to seasonal variations, with concentration levels becoming high in summer, highest in autumn, and lowest in winter (Nakasone et al, 2021).…”

A Review of Radon Concentration in Water Sources in Nigeria and its Impact

“…Due to changes in the concentration of radium-226 ( 226 Ra) and thorium ( 232 Th) existing in the soil, the level of radon and its daughters change considerably with time (Vogiannis and Nikolopoulus, 2015). The amount of Rn present in water is affected by the temperature of the groundwater, depth, location, season, and rock type (Nagaraja et al, 2019).…”