DETERMINATION OF RADIUM IN MINE WATER FROM THE NORTH OF TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA (original) (raw)
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Measurement of radium content in some spring waters from Romania
Environmental engineering and management journal
Measurements of radium concentrations in water are important from the health protection point of view, so simple and reliable analytical methods must be available. In this paper we have determined the radium activity concentration in 24 spring waters which are used as potable water reservoirs. For this purpose we used radon emanation technique and also alpha spectrometry method. This work gives details of sample processing, Lucas cell and the methodology used in the emanation method. In the measured samples the radium concentration ranged from 15 to 2550 mBq/l.
Radon and radium content of some cold and thermal aquifers from Bihor County (northwestern Romania)
Geofluids, 2010
In the present study, two of the major naturally occurring radionuclides (226 Ra and 222 Rn) were analyzed in water samples from shallow, medium-depth, and deep geothermal aquifers, all of which are located in Bihor County, northwestern Romania. Here, the results of radon and radium measurements, performed from 2008 to 2009 in 50 locations, are reported. Radon proved to have a wide range of activity, with values from 4.5 to 110.8 Bq l)1 for shallow aquifers, from 9.3 to 106.0 Bq l)1 for medium-depth aquifers, and from 10.1 to 34.8 Bq l)1 for deep geothermal aquifers. The shallow aquifers have lower radium concentrations (0.06 to 0.48 Bq l)1), compared to medium-depth aquifers (0.1 to 0.52 Bq l)1) and deep geothermal aquifers (0.27 to 1.8 Bq l)1). The principal aim was a thorough investigation into the possible correlations between the occurrence of radon and radium in different aquifers and the hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical, and geothermal features of the area. Besides the direct link between the occurrence of uranium and thorium and the 226 Ra and 222 Rn contents in groundwater, the measurements we performed have allowed us to identify a secondary control on radionuclide distributions caused by the adsorption of dissolved radium onto clay minerals in exchange for sodium (for the sandy clay aquifer of Sȃ cuieni), the high competition for adsorption sites in aquifers with high concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium (for the limestone dolomite aquifer of Oradea), and the role of thermal processes.
Radium isotopes in the Polish Outer Carpathian mineral waters of various chemical composition
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 2012
The paper presents the activity concentrations of radium isotopes (226 Ra, 228 Ra) and chemical compositions of above 70 mineral water samples collected from several dozens of springs and boreholes localized in the Polish Outer Carpathians. The activity concentrations of both radium isotopes clearly increase with the increase of water TDS, but decrease when the SO 2À 4 content increases. These concentrations vary in the broad interval from a few to near 1000 mBq/L. The coefficient of the linear correlation between concentrations of these isotopes amounts to 0.85, and the activity ratio 226 Ra/ 228 Ra is >1 for chloride-sodium waters, being z1 for hydrogen-carbonate and <1 for the sulfate ones.
Geothermics, 2012
Geothermal waters originating from three aquifers in northwestern Romania have been analyzed for several physico-chemical parameters namely, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, hardness, redox potential, and chemical oxygen demand. In addition, major dissolved ions and organic matter content and radium and radon occurrence have been analyzed. The three aquifers are the fissured Middle Triassic limestone/dolomite aquifer from Oradea, the Lower Cretaceous limestone aquifer from 1Mai-Felix Spa, and the Lower Pontian (Late Miocene) granular (sand) aquifer from Sȃcuieni. The first two aquifers belong to the Inner Dacides and the last to the Pannonian Basin. We have examined the relationships between the occurrence of radium and radon in the thermal waters and the hydrochemical and geothermal features of the aquifers, which may impart a secondary control on the activity of these radionuclides. According to their chemistry, the thermal waters were classified as sulfate-bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium (Oradea), bicarbonate-sulfate-calcium-magnesium (Felix-1Mai Spa), and bicarbonate-sodium-chloride (Sȃcuieni). The activities of radon and radium were higher in Sȃcuieni (up to 22.88 and 1.40 Bq/L) and Oradea (up to 34.82 and 1.82 Bq/L) than in Felix-1Mai Spa (up to 16.76 and 0.19 Bq/L). The data shows that the thermal processes may control the migration and distribution of radionuclides, and that the mobility of radionuclides may be influenced by several physico-chemical parameters, such as pH, total dissolved solids, and redox potential, or by some chemical processes, such as adsorption on humic acids or partitions into the organic (hydrocarbons) phase. The data illustrate no significant differences between the parameters analyzed from February to July 2009, proving that the production regime of the aquifers has a minor impact on their chemical and physical parameters.
Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 2010
The investigations of natural radioactivity in underground mineral water and spring water in health resorts in the Outer Carpathians were performed. Samples from 40 water springs were collected 3-4 times over a period of 10 years (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007). In order to obtain necessary data, two different nuclear spectrometry techniques were applied: WinSpectral aXb 1414 liquid scintillation counter from Wallac and a-spectrometer 7401 VR from Canberra-Packard, USA with the silicon surface barrier detector. The activity concentrations of 222 Rn in the investigated samples varied from below 1 to 50 Bq/l. For radium isotopes the concentrations were in a range from below 10 to 490 mBq/l for 226 Ra and from 29 to 397 mBq/l for 228 Ra. The highest concentrations for both radium isotopes were obtained for medicinal water Zuber III from Krynica spa. The activity concentrations for uranium isotopes varied from below 0.5 to 16 mBq/l for 238 U and from below 0.5 to 162 mBq/l for 234 U with the highest values obtained for water Zuber IV. The highest annual effective dose arising from mainly radium isotopes was obtained for Zuber III water and was equal to 75 mSv/yr. Additionally, the annual effective doses due to 222 Rn consumed with water were also estimated. The isotopic ratios between isotopes originating from the same decay chain ( 234 U/ 238 U, 226 Ra/ 238 U) and from different radioactive decay chains ( 226 Ra/ 228 Ra) were determined. The correlations between different isotopes were presented.
Radon in water from Transylvania (Romania)
Radiation Measurements, 2008
Radon is a radioactive noble gas of a natural origin that may be found anywhere in soil, air and in different types of water: surface, well and spring. It is worth to carry out surveys for the radon in natural waters for radiation protection as well as for geological considerations. The results present here are from a survey carried out in the Transylvania region in Romania for radon concentrations in natural waters. The measurements were made using the LUK-VR system that is based on radon gas measurement with Lucas cell. Due to the large number of water samples (1511 samples) collected for analysis, a short counting time had to be used, so that the measurements were made during the non-equilibrium state between radon and its progeny. The results show that the radon concentrations are within the range of 0.5.129.3 kBq/m 3 with an average value of 15.4 kBq/m 3 for all types of water covered within this survey.
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 2014
The radon concentration was measured in the drinking water of public water supply and private wells located in the mining area of Bȃiţa-Ş tei, Bihor County, Romania. The measurements were performed using the LUK-VR system based on radon gas measurement with Lucas cell. The results show that the radon concentrations are within the range of 1.9-134.3 kBq m 23 with an average value of 35.5 kBq m 23 for well water, 18.5 kBq m 23 for spring water and 6.9 kBq m 23 for tap water. Comparing with previous data from the whole of Transylvania, the average value is two times higher, proving this zone to be a radon-prone area. From the results of this study the effective dose to the population is between 4.78 and 338.43 mSv y 21 . These doses are within the recommended limits of the world organisations.
Radioprotection, 2009
Saline waters from underground coal mines in Poland often contain natural radioactive isotopes, mainly 226 Ra from the uranium decay series and 228 Ra from the thorium series. More than 70% of the total amount of radium remains underground as radioactive deposits due to spontaneous co-precipitation or water treatment technologies, but several tens of MBq of 226 Ra and even higher activity of 228 Ra are released daily into the rivers along with the other mine effluents from all Polish coal mines.
Indoor and Built Environment, 2007
Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas, is the main source of the natural radiation that is received by the population. It derives from the traces of radium in rocks and can diffuse directly or as solution in water to the earth's surface. Measurements of radium and radon concentration in a total of ten different well waters sampled at about 100 m depth in the Afyonkarahisar area of Turkey have been made. It was found that the concentration ranged from 0.42-28.82 Bq·L Ϫ1 for radon and from 0.07-7.16 Bq·L Ϫ1 for radium. A 99% correlation between radon and radium concentrations was found. From these data the average annual effective dose equivalent from radon and radium in the water have been estimated to about 73.8 and 778.96 Sv·y Ϫ1 , respectively.
Determination of radioactivity concentration levels of Bakırçay River basin
2008
In this study, the activity concentrations of naturally occurring 40 K, 238 U, and 232 Th radionuclides and of the artificial, Chernobyl accident-induced 137 Cs radionuclide were measured in soil samples collected from Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Rize is a city located in the Northeastern District of Turkey, which was significantly affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in Ukraine, and the effects have continued to today. Tea is the main production plant of the region, and was contaminated by the artificial radioactivity. Therefore, measurements of residual 137 Cs contamination in soil are critical for monitoring the potential impacts on human health. The activity concentrations of radionuclides in 24 soil samples from the study area were measured by means of gamma spectrometry with a Nal(TI) detector. The activity concentrations in soil samples varied in the range of 7.4e79.8 Bq kg À1 for 238 U, 9.5e170.8 Bq kg À1 for 232 Th, 35.7e913.8 Bq kg À1 for 40 K, and 0.6 e154.3 Bq kg À1 for 137 Cs. The gamma absorbed dose rates in air were in the range of 10.7e156.4 nGy h À1 , with an arithmetic mean of 56.9 nGy h À1 , while the annual effective dose rates were determined to be in the range of 13.1e191.8 mSv y À1. The calculated values of external hazard index (H ex) for the soil samples in the study area were in the range of 0.12e0.94. The average value of radium equivalent activity was 125.0 Bq kg À1. The activity concentrations of radionuclides in soil samples were compared to the international values reported by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR, 2000) and previous studies on the area.