Gross α and β activities in tap waters in Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey

Abstract

Gross α and gross β activities were determined for 27 different tap water samples collected from Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The instrumentation used to count the gross α and gross β activities was a α/β counter of the low background multiple detector type with 10 sample detectors (Berthold LB770). The obtained results showed that natural activity concentrations of α- and β-emitting radionuclides in tap water samples did not exceed WHO and ITS recommended levels. Concentrations ranging from 0.2 mBq/l to 15 mBq/l and from 25.2 mBq/l to 264.4 mBq/l were observed for the gross α and gross β activities, respectively. For all samples the gross β activities were higher than the corresponding gross α activities.