Impact of Natural Radioactivity in a Thermal Waters Spa: The Case of Elguea Spa in Cuba

The use of thermal waters coming from deep geologic structures in spas has been identified as typical scenarios of exposure to radiation of natural origin. In general these scenarios can affect tourists and/or patients under treatment, as they can be in direct contact with the materials carrying radionuclides, as well as the workers whose permanency in sites with increased levels of radiation is greater than that of the patients. By this reason studies for assessing the radiological impact of these exposure scenarios over these population categories have been carried out worldwide. The spa Elguea, located in the north coast of Villa Clara, Cuba, is considered one of the most important spas in Latin America. This spa is equipped with three swimming pools, individual bathtubs with motors for massages, sauna, hydrotherapy and mud therapy. All these services use, in one way or another, the existent in the area of the spa thermal waters and mud. The waters of this spa are rich in chlorine, sodium and bromine salts, sulphides and they also contain significant levels of radon. Present paper shows the dose estimations made for both patients and worker based on the radiological characterization of the spa and its surroundings and for identified exposure scenarios. Dose values are in the range 1.0 to 180 μSv/year for workers, the most irradiated group, and these results suggest that it is not necessary to adopt any additional regulation or measure for protection. (author)