The survey of gross radioactivity level in drinking water in Inner Mongolia Region / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To ascertain the gross α/β levels in drinking water in Inner Mongolia and to estimate the annual effective dose to the local residents from radionuclides in drinking water.Methods A total of 768 water samples were collected from 101 counties distributed over 12 cities of Inner Mongolia.Low background α/β measuring instrument was used to measure the radioactivity level;On this basis,use EPA Federal Guidance Report 11 universal method to estimate the annual effective dose to the local residents via intake of radionuclides from drinking water.Results The gross α radioactivity range was 0.016-1.003 Bq/L for tap water,O.016-0.975 Bq/L for factory water,0.017-1.544 Bq/L for river water,0.120-0.672 Bq/L for lake water,0.016-0.492 Bq/L for reservoir water,0.016-1.139 Bq/L for well water,0.032-3.156 Bq/L for spring water,respectively.The gross β radioactivity range was 0.030-0.828 Bq/L for tap water,0.031-0.571 Bq/L for factory water,0.066-0.873 Bq/L for river water,0.169-2.268 Bq/L for lake water,0.046-0.519 Bq/L for reservoir water,0.071-0.526 Bq/L for well water,0.087-1.063 Bq/L for spring water,respectively.Conclusions In Inner Mongolia,the gross α/β mean value in tap water is less than the World Health Organization-recommended value and the average annual effective dose from tap water is also less than the WHO-recommended value O.1 mSv/a.The gross α/β radioactivity from the other water samples is also within the range of the nationwide average.