Critical remarks on radioactivity analysis in drinking waters: High doses and increased lifetime risks from aqaba tap water, jordan

Abstract

Radiochemical analysis was carried out on drinking water sources in the south region of Jordan. There is no information reported so far about radioactivity concentrations in drinking water. Therefore, gross alpha and beta activity concentrations were determined for tap water (TW), home filtered tap water, commercial water, and bottled water to evaluate age-dependent annual effective dose and lifetime risk. The activity concentrations range of gross alpha and beta in TW were 0.301–1.188, and 0.604–1.626 Bq L –1 , respectively. The results showed that, in general, activity concentrations in TW samples exceeded both World Health Organization and Jordanian guidelines of 0.5 and 1.0 Bq L –1 for gross alpha and beta, respectively. On the other hand, activity concentrations for other water sources were below the maximum allowable limits. The cancer lifetime risk from both 226 Ra and 228 Ra due to ingestion of TW exceed what some consider on acceptable risk of 10 –4 or less. Therefore, all sources of water are safe for drinking and domestic purposes, except TW, which pose a hazard to public. Reverse osmosis filters are sufficient in removing radionuclides from TW, therefore, it is highly recommended for people to use them at their homes.