On the Natural Radioactivity of Waters in Hungary
Zsolt Kasztovszky1, Rudolf Kuczi2, Pável Szerbin3
1Department of Atomic Physics, Eötvös Loránd
University, Budapest, Hungary
2Lauder Radon Laboratory, Budapest, Hungary
3“Frédéric Joliot-Curie” National Research Institute
for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene, Budapest, Hungary
(1)Corresponding author: Zsolt Kasztovszky
Department of Nuclear Physics, Institute of Isotopes
H-1525 Budapest, POB 77, Hungary
Phone: 00-361-275-43-47, Fax: 00-361-275-43-49
Abbreviations:
ICRP: International Committee on Radiological Protection
E Uni.: Eötvös Loránd University
LSC: Liquid Scintillation Counting
NRIRR:“Frédéric Joliot-Curie” National
Research Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene
CEJOEM 1996, 2(4):335-347
Abstract: Radon is a radioactive noble gas, a member
of the 238U decay series. Soil contains a certain amount of radon,
which can dissolve into the ground-water after diffusion through the pores
of the soil. As a result of this process, in most of the underground waters
different radon levels can be observed. Radon and radium concentrations
were measured in waters of different origin and in well waters of Mátraderecske
village, where strong radon flux from the ground was observed. The radon
concentration measured in the water of the Rudas-spa was between 100 and
350 Bq/l, and some country wells show similar high values. In the case
of human water consumption from these sources dose contribution of natural
radioactivity should be taken into account to avoid unacceptable health
risk to the public. Parallel to the water radioctivity measurements, radon
in the air of dwellings, located close to the wells was measured. It was
also found, that temporary values of radioactivity are probably influenced
by several meteorological factors.
Key words: Natural radioactivity, radium, radon, soil, drinking-water,
dwellings, liquid scintillation method, water consumption, dose limitation
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The present work was partly supported by the Hungarian
OTKA T 76030 project. We thank Esther Tóth and the people of Mátraderecske
for their cooperation in the investigations in Mátraderecske.
Received: 30 September 1996
Accepted: 11 November 1996 |
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