Uranium and radium in water samples around the Nikola Tesla B lignite-fired power plant - Obrenovac, Serbia (original) (raw)
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Investigation of the natural radioactivity levels in water around power plants, as well as in plants, coal, ash, slag and soil, and to assess the associated radiation hazard is becoming an emerging and interesting topic. This paper is focused on the results of the radioactivity analysis in waste water samples from five coal-fired power plants in Serbia (Nikola Tesla A, Nikola Tesla B, Kolubara, Morava and Kostolac), which were analyzed in the period 2003–2015. River water samples taken upstream and downstream from the power plants, drain water and overflow water were analyzed. In the water samples gamma spectrometry analysis was performed as well as determination of gross alpha and beta activity. Natural radionuclide 40K was detected by gamma spectrometry, while the concentrations of other radionuclides, 226Ra, 235U and 238U, usually were below the minimum detection activity (MDA). 232Th and artificial radionuclide 137Cs were not detected in these samples. Gross alpha and beta activ...
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Thermal waters are known as valuable natural resources of a country. They contain certain degree of natural radioactivity attributable to the elements of the uranium and thorium natural decay series. Among these elements, the most radiotoxic and the most important is radium that exists in several isotopic forms ( 226 Ra and 228 Ra). The focus of attention was the content of radium in samples of thermal and mineral spring water from several spas in Croatia. These waters are mainly used for medical, bathing and recreational purposes, and some of them are used for drinking. Measured activity concentrations of 226 Ra ranged from 87 to 6200 mBq l 21 which, in some springs, exceed the maximal permissible level of 1 Bq l 21 for drinking water. Measured activity concentrations of 228 Ra ranged from 23 to 3480 mBq l 21 . The study showed that radium content for the investigated thermal and mineral waters is below the levels at which negative consequences would arise due to ingestion.
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The article summarizes the activity concentrations data of 226 Ra and the sum of uranium isotopes (∑U) in samples of drinking underground water for different regions of Ukraine studied during 1998-2023 in the radiation monitoring laboratory of the State Institution "O.M. Marzieiev Institute of Public Health National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. Arithmetic mean and standard deviations, minimum and maximum values for 226 Ra and ∑U activity concentrations are presented for the entire 1240 sample set and for each region separately. Collected data show that the established state permissible level for drinking water of 1.0 Bq/l is exceeded for 226 Ra in 1.1% of the studied samples, and for ∑U-in 3.9% correspondingly. The detected high levels of 226 Ra and ∑U activity concentrations correspond to certain regions belonging to the Ukrainian crystalline shield territory. A comparison of the current data with the data of previous studies held during of 1989-1991 indicates a significant difference: for the previous studies the average and standard deviations are much higher. We attribute this to the fact that the centralized sampling of previous studies was random, and it was related exclusively to communal water supply systems. At the same time, the current sample set covers a much larger number of regions, different water consumers; the data set includes the results of repeated studies for a large number of sources, in particular, sources with purified water. Hypothetical exposure doses caused by consumption of 226 Ra and ∑U in water for the current sample set were estimated for different age groups for each sample studied, as is, without taking into account the pattern of water consumption. The corresponding dose exceeds the WHO recommended value of 0.1 mSv per year for children under the age of one year for 220 cases (17.7%). This dose limit excess for other age groups corresponds-for children: aged 12-17 years-13.1%, aged 1-2 years-7.4%, 7-12 years old-5.6%, 2-7 years old-3.9% and for adults-4.1%. Protection of underground water is commonly much higher than for surface water with regard to chemical and microbiological pollutants, which sets the priority of its use as drinking water source 1. At the same time, underground water contains natural radionuclides of the U and Th series. The radioactivity concentration in water is formed by the radioactive composition of the rocks, the level of fissuring of the rocks, the chemical properties of the water and the contact time of the water with the rocks 2. Author shoved scatted plot of uranium versus 226 Ra in random Australian ground water illustrating the lack of correlation between parent and decay product. The introduction of natural radionuclides into water occurs due to diffusion of gas (222 Rn) or leaching (U, Ra) from the surface of rocks. The chemical composition of water defines the intensity and priority of certain radionuclides leaching. High levels of natural radionuclides in drinking water are observed primarily for artesian wells with a depth of several tens to hundreds of meters, although in some places favorable conditions for the entry of natural radionuclides into water present even for aquifers with a depth of only a few meters or even for surface streams 3. In addition, high levels of natural radionuclides in surface water can form discharges from mining and processing industrial enterprises, mines.