Radon measurement in ground water and mineral water of Amritsar district by alpha scintillometry

In this paper, the results of radon concentration in the drinking water samples from some areas of Amritsar district are presented. Samples were collected from the hand pumps, submersible pumps, taps, tube wells and wells, which are the major sources of drinking water in these areas. Radon concentration in drinking water showed wide variations in samples. The measured radon concentration in these samples has been found to be varying from 1.68 ± 0.41 Bq/l to 6.95 ± 0.83 Bq/l and these are found to be quite below the recommended value of 400 Bq/l. The lowest value has been recorded in village Kot-Dharam Chand and the highest value has been recorded in the Dashmesh Avenue colony of Amritsar. The results for radon concentration in water samples for Amritsar are compared with those reported from Himachal Pradesh. The radon concentration has also been measured in some bottled mineral water and these values have been found to be less than the other sources of ground water. The technique used is simple, rapid and does not require any chemical preparation of samples. (author)