Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Journal of Young Scientist", Vol. 9
Written by Cecilia Ionela TĂBAN, Teodora Mihaela CIRICAN
The presence of radioactivity in drinking-water is a risk factor on human health, including cancer. This article presents the harmful effects of radioactivity on human health, the legislation and the available analytical methods of controlling radionuclides in environmental samples. Several case studies regarding the gross alpha and beta activities of surface, ground and drinking water, were described. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), radon, a radioactive gas that comes from disintegration of radium, is considered a carcinogenic agent of group 1. There are two approaches of monitoring 222Rn in water, WHO and EURATOM. The methods for determination of radioactive content in water can be direct (gamma-spectrometry) or indirect (gamma-spectrometry, emanometry and liquid scintillation counting). Several published reports on radioactive pollution of water in different regions, showed exceeding values of gross alpha and beta activity, depending on geo-climatic factors. This study emphasizes the importance of monitoring water radioactivity and in particular radon, which can be a major risk for consumer health.
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