Naturally-Occurring Radionuclides In Drinking Water From Surface And Groundwater Reservoirs

Radioactivity in water for human consumption is under closer scrutiny than ever before and many countries adopted guideline values based on total alpha and total beta activity measurements. Although most waters from surface circulation meet these guidelines, it is frequently found that groundwater exceed guideline values. Results of water analyses by alpha spectrometry clarified that the main radionuclides present are from the uranium decay series, such as uranium isotopes, radium (226Ra), radon (222Rn), and also 210Pb and 210Po. Occasionally, groundwater displayed 226Ra concentrations higher than 1 Bq L-1 and 222Rn concentrations above 1000 Bq L-1. Nevertheless, lack of conformity of these waters with guidelines adopted, generally, is not due to anthropogenic inputs