Age-dependent dose assessment of 226Ra from bottled water intake

Water may present a source of prolonged exposure to naturally occurring radionuclides. One of the most frequently occurring radionuclides in natural mineral and spring waters is 226Ra and its decay products. The contribution of drinking water to the total exposure is very small, at about 5% of the average effective dose attributable annually to natural background radiation, but that exposure contributes to the risk of adverse health consequences. In this study the mean values of 226Ra concentration determined in natural mineral and spring bottled waters range from 6 to 412 mBq L(-1), which is in accord with Croatian legislation. 226Ra effective doses per year from spring water consumption range up to 86 microSv, while 226Ra effective doses per year from mineral water consumption show much higher values. The highest 226Ra effective doses per year from mineral waters consumption, which are up to seven times higher than the dose recommended by WHO (100 microSv), were found in infants and teens. Based on this study, drinking of certain brands of bottled mineral water is not recommended for these age groups because assessed 226Ra effective doses per year exceed the recommended limits. From other research it is known that testosterone appears in elevated concentration during these life periods and affects bone calcification. Therefore, testosterone could affect the retention of 226Ra into the bone. To make more precise conclusions further research is necessary. Adults and especially elderly people are much less susceptible to the presence of 226Ra. According to the results obtained in this study, 226Ra effective doses per year assessed for these age groups were considerably lower (i.e., 10 microSv).