Activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra, 222Rn and their health impact in the groundwater of Jordan

Abstract

The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra and 222Rn were measured in 87 groundwater samples to estimate the activity concentrations of these radionuclides and health impact due to intake of these radionuclides in groundwater of Jordan. The mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra and 222Rn in groundwater were found to be 0.293 ± 0.005 Bq L−1, 0.508 ± 0.009 Bq L−1 and 58.829 ± 8.824 Bq L−1, respectively. They give a mean annual effective dose of 0.481 mSv with mean lifetime risk of 24.599 × 10−4, exceeding the admissible limit of 10−4. Most of the received annual effective dose (59.15% of the total) is attributed to 228Ra.