Natural radioactivity in tap waters from the private wells in the surroundings of the former Žirovski Vrh uranium mine and the age-dependent dose assessment

Abstract

Activity concentration of (238)U, (234)U, (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (210)Pb and (210)Po in tap water from selected springs and private wells in the area of the former uranium mine at Žirovski Vrh were determined. A total of 22 tap water samples were collected at consumer's houses. The results show that the activity concentrations of uranium in water samples are in range (0.17-372) and (0.22-362) mBq L(-1) for (238)U and (234)U, respectively. Radium activity concentrations are in range (0.14-16.7) and (0.9-11.7) mBq L(-1) for (226)Ra and (228)Ra, respectively. (210)Po activity concentration is in range (0.28-8.0) mBq L(-1) and can be regarded as the lowest amongst all analysed radionuclides. The range for (210)Pb is (0.5-24.6) mBq L(-1). Based on the results obtained for activity concentrations of six radionuclides, the committed effective dose for three different age groups of population were estimated. It was found that the committed effective dose was well below the recommended value of 100 μSv year(-1), ranging from 2.3 to 34.3 μSv year(-1) for adults, from 3.5 to 32.0 μSv year(-1) for children (7-12 years) and from 3.0 to 23.3 μSv year(-1) for infants.

210Po characteristic in selected thermal water sources in Northern Vietnam

“…Waters originating from different geological regions of Croatia are recorded at 210 Po levels of 0.25-5.20 mBq L −1 [42]. Tap water from private wells in the area around the Žirovski Vrh uranium mine, Croatia had a 210 Po activity concentration of 0.28-8.0 mB.L −1 [43]. The first deep geothermal doublet in found Flanders, Belgium had a very low content of 210 Po, 36 mBq L −1 [1].…”

Comparison of Uranium Isotopes and Classical Geochemical Tracers in Karst Aquifer of Ljubljanica River catchment (Slovenia)

“…Chemical reagents and acids were prepared with deionized water (>18 MΩ cm, Millipore Milli-Q-Plus) and with clean laboratory equipment which was soaked overnight in 10% HNO 3 . The analytical procedures used for U and Th isotopes in water and solid samples have been reported previously [51][52][53] and are briefly described below.…”

“…For the determination of U isotopes in water samples, U was coprecipitated with Fe(OH) 3 [53]. In an aliquot containing 350 mL of water, 1 mL of FeCl 3 solution (5 mg/mL) was added and the pH was increased to 9 by adding a concentrated ammonia solution.…”

Low 210Pb background groundwater discharge still need to be considered for small-scale bay: a case study of Dongshan Bay

“…By reviewing the global research works for 210 Po and 210 Pb investigation in groundwaters, we found that most of the studies were carried out by developed countries like USA (Outola et al, 2008;Seiler et al, 2011;Szabo et al, 2020;Burnett et al, 1987;Ruberu et al, 2007), Australia (Dickson et al, 1992;Yanase et al, 1995;Walsh et al, 2014), Finland (Seiler et al, 2011;Porcelli, 2014) and other European countries (Andrews et al, 1989;Benedik et al, 2015;Rožmarić et al, 2014;Wallner and Steininger, 2007). However, relevant studies reported by developing countries are rare (Zhong et al, 2020).…”