Radon Gas Measurement in Water Samples in Kahramanmaras Province of Turkey

Küçükönder, Erdal; Gümbür, Serdar

Radon Gas Measurement in Water Samples in Kahramanmaras Province of Turkey

2022

Küçükönder, Erdal | Gümbür, Serdar

In this study, a total of 42 water samples were collected from Karasu and Pınarbası, which are two drinking water sources feeding the Kahramanmaras city center water distribution network, from sixteen cisterns fed from these water sources and twenty-four tap water receiving water from the cisterns. Radon concentrations and radon inhalation rates of these water samples were determined using a CR-39 passive trace detector. In natural spring water samples, radon concentrations and exhalation rates ranged from 174.7 ±18.7 Bq/m³ to 211.7± 30.7 ±10.7 Bq/m³ and 5.6 ± 0.6 mBq/m²h to 6.8 ± 1.0 mBq/m²h. In cistern water samples, radon concentrations and exhalation rates ranged from 80.6 ± 3.9 Bq/m³ to 303.0 ± 21.8 Bq/m³ and from 2.6 ± 0.1 mBq/m²h to 9.8 ± 0.7 mBq/m²h, respectively. In tap water samples, radon concentrations and exhalation rates ranged from 99.3 ± 5.5 Bq/m³ to 305.8 ±10.7 Bq/m³ and from 3.2 ± 0.2 mBq/m²h to 9.9 ± 0.4 mBq/m²h, respectively. These values are compared to the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America (USEPA), the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the European Union (EU) Commission, and the World Health Organization (WHO)’s drinking water safe limit values. As a result, it has been determined that these values are far below the recommended safe limit values for drinking water. Also, the results of this study’s radon and exhalation rate tests are compared to those of comparable studies conducted in Turkey and other countries.

Afficher plus [+]