224Ra and the 224Ra/228Ra activity ratio in selected mineral waters from the Polish Carpathians

Abstract

Mineral and therapeutic waters widely occurring in the Polish Carpathians contain a vast amount of biogenic elements. However, radioactive elements like radium isotopes are also found in these waters. This paper presents the first results of the activity concentration measurements of ²²⁴Ra in selected mineral waters of the Polish Carpathians. Additionally, the content of ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra, and the activity ratios of ²²⁴Ra/²²⁸Ra, ²²⁴Ra/²²⁶Ra and ²²⁶Ra/²²⁸Ra in the waters were determined. The work was based on a method for the simultaneous determination of ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra in water samples using the a/b liquid scintillation spectrometer. The results show that the activity concentrations of ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra in the mineral waters are comparable and vary from ca. 220 mBq/L to above 1500 mBq/L. The activity ratios of ²²⁴Ra/²²⁸Ra, ²²⁴Ra/²²⁶Ra and ²²⁶Ra/²²⁸Ra are variable within the ranges of 0.68 to 1.48, 0.65 to 1.48, and 0.78 to 2.05, respectively. The committed effective dose resulting from the intake of ²²⁴Ra through the water consumption is far lower than that from ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra.