Determination of 226Ra concentration in bottled mineral water and assessment of effective doses, a survey in Turkey

There is a rapid increase worldwide in the consumption of mineral waters which may contain different level of radioactive elements, especially [226]Ra, in addition to varying amounts of beneficial salts. Therefore, a comprehensive study was planned and carried out in order to determine concentration of [226] Ra natural radionuclide in bottled mineral waters that commercially available in Marmara Region of Turkey. The method used for [226] Ra concentration analysis bases on the measurement of Radon [[222] Rn] coming from [226] Ra dissolved in the water. The measurements were performed using RAD 7, a solid state alpha detector, with RAD H2O accessory manufactured by DURRIDGE COMPANY Inc. The [226] Ra concentration in mineral waters was found to vary from <0.074 to 0.625 Bql[-1] with an average value of 0.267 Bql[-1].The committed effective doses due to ingestion of 226Ra from the one year consumption of these waters were estimated to range from 10.8 to 90 microSvy[-1], from 9 to 75 microSvy[-1] and from 3.15 to 26.25 microSvy[-1], for infants, children and adults, respectively. The results obtained in this study indicate that the committed effective doses are below the WHO [World Health Organization] recommended reference level of 100 microSvy[-1]