Assessment of Radon Concentration In The Water Sources Around Chashma Nuclear Installations.
F.Malik, S.Butt, Mubarik Ali, Z.Latif
IAD, PINSTECH,Nilore, Islamabad
Drinking-water is one of the most essential and indispensable element for human life or actually for the whole living world. The safety of drinking-water is often of the highest priority for public health and environmental protection and hence to access sustainable safe drinking-water had become one of the United Nations Goals. Based on a National Academy of Science report, EnvironmentalProtection Agency estimates that radon in drinking water causes about 168 cancer deaths per year: 89% from lung cancer caused by breathing radon released to the indoor air from water and 11% from stomach cancer caused by consuming water containing radon.[1] Hence the public concern for radioactivity of drinking-water has been increasing in recent years after the rapid development of nuclear power plants.The radioactivity of water samples collected in the vicinity of nuclear facilities from the Kundian area surrounding the Chashma Nuclear Power plants were measured A systematic studies was carried on by collecting the water samples from different sources.These samples of water were from different sources i-e bore holes, tube wells, canals as well as of hand pumps. The annual mean effective doses for ingestion and inhalation were calculated by using the parameters established in the UNSCEARreport 2000 (United nations scientific committee on the effects of atomic radiations). The results showed that, the activities of the radon gasby using RAD7 radon detector ranged from 0.2kBq/m-1to 9.2kBq/m-1with a mean value of 5.2 kBq/m-1.The annual mean effective dose derived from drinking-water varies from0.05 mSv a-1 to 2.41mSv-a-1 with a mean value of 1.36 mSv-a-1 which shows that all values are within the safe limits (3–10 mSv a-1) [2] as proposed by the ICRP recommended action limits. thus pose no threat to the people of the locality.
References
- UNSCEAR United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiations. Ionizing radiation Sources and biological effects. Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annex. (New York, United Nations) (2000)
- ICRP 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 60Ann. ICRP (Oxford: Pergamon)