Radon and Radium Concentration in Water From Public Fountains at the Central Parts of the Kratovo-Zletovo Volcanic Area, Republic of North Macedonia

Abstract

The paper presents information about our latest study of radon and radium in drinking water from the public water fountains situated in central parts of the Kratovo-Zletovo volcanic area. Results for the radon in water measurements were as follows: Fountain 1 to Fountain 4 samples, ranged from 6.63 up to 157.73 Bq l -1 . Obtained results for the radium in water, Fountain 1 to Fountain 4 samples, ranged from 0.20 up to 1.08 Bq l -1 . Both, radon and radium measurements, in water samples from certain fountains have shown significantly higher values than the strictest standards given by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO). The committed effective doses for the population consuming the water directly from the fountains or as selfbottled waters from the Kratovo-Zletovo volcanic area were estimated using the concentration of 222 Rn and 226 Ra in water samples, ranged from 45.47 μSv y -1 to 709.36 μSv y -1 , which once again for some fountains were higher than the WHO recommended values of max. 100 μSv y -1 .