Measurement of (222)Rn concentration in drinking water in Sakarya, Turkey

In this paper, the first measurement of (222)Rn concentrations in drinking water from wells, springs and bottled waters in the city of Sakarya, Turkey was presented. The measurements were performed using RAD 7, a solid-state alpha detector, with RAD H2O (radon in water) accessory manufactured by Durridge Company, Inc. The measured activity concentrations ranged from 1.98 to 20.80 Bq l(-1) with an average value of 9.05 Bq l(-1) for well water, from 0.75 to 59.65 Bq l(-1) with an average value of 13.78 Bq l(-1) for spring water and from 0.75 to 22.8 Bq l(-1) with an average value of 5.41 Bq l(-1) for bottled water. Although these results indicated relatively high (222)Rn concentrations compared with that from other parts of the Turkey, they are still below the World Health Organization recommended level of 100 Bq l(-1) for radon. Using the measured activities of (222)Rn, the age-dependent associated committed effective doses due to the ingestion of (222)Rn as a consequence of direct consumption of drinking water were calculated. The committed effective doses from (222)Rn were estimated to range from 2.59 to 205.97 µSv y(-1), from 1.55 to 123.28 µSv y(-1) and from 1.31 to 104.48 µSv y(-1) for age groups 1-2, 8-12 and >17 y, respectively.