Radionuclides in Drinking Water: An Overview

Abstract

Although this article discusses radionuclides in general, its focus is on radium, uranium, and radon, which are the radionuclides of most concern to drinking water suppliers. Developed as the result of literature searches and interviews with personnel from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Health Services, the article covers radionuclide chemistry, the occurrence of radionuclides, current and future regulations, treatment technologies, and monitoring.

Radon in Groundwater of the Northeastern Gran Canaria Aquifer

“…As mentioned above, in groundwater 222 Rn occurs in dissolved form and radon activity concentrations range from a few to thousands of Bq/L, in contrast to the surface water where 222 Rn generally has very low concentrations [41,42]. The Council of the European Union states in its directive 2013/51/EURATOM of 22 October 2013 that the "requirements for the protection of the health of the public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption has established a limit of 100 Bq/L of radon activity".…”

Uranium Uptake Study, Nambe, New Mexico: Source Document

“…Most drinking water supplies contain natural uranium levels below 3 µg U L -1 (ATSDR, 1990), although elevated levels of natural U have been discovered in both surface and ground water (Hess et al, 1985). A number of states have found average drinking water levels exceeding 2 pCi L -1 , the equivalent of roughly 6 µg U L -1 (Irwin et al, 1997 Ra, natural U, radon, gross alpha, gross beta, and photon emitters (Aieta et al, 1987 (Wrenn et al, 1985). The Department of Energy (DOE) has established a limit of 800 µg U L -1 for natural U based on the Department's public dose limit guideline for the general public (ESP, 1996 (Osburn, 1965).…”

Health risk related to radon in a thermal spa utilizing waters from Guarani aquifer

“…Several authors [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] also pointed out that although radon in water is not a well-documented health risk, it does contribute to radon in indoor air, which has been established as a health threat. Furthermore, high concentrations of 222 Rn in groundwater also indicate the presence of radon's parent nuclides, 238 U and 226 Ra, in the water-rock system, which are known health risks when ingested in drinking water [12].…”