Radon concentration potential in Bibala municipality water: Consequences for public consumption

Abstract

The primary motivation for this work is the evaluation of the radon concentration in drinking water for human consumption in Bibala, a municipality in Angola, where granitic rocks are common, and contain a high concentration of uranium that can be mobilized in underground water. Radon is the largest contributor of radioactive pollution in underground water. Its concentration in water, represents a public health risk due to the fact that the gas can easily escape into the air, adding to the total indoor concentration of radon. On the other hand, ingestion of water with a high radon concentration represents an additional risk to the stomach. Measurements of radon concentration, in Bibala municipality's water, were performed by collecting 3 samples from each of the 27 water wells of diverse depth, with DURRIDGEs' RAD7 and the average radon concentration are identified by S1 to S27. Measured concentrations are in the range from 5.3 ± 0.6 to 42 ± 5 Bq L−1, with 67% of the recovered samples presenting values over 11 BqL−1, the USEPA recommended level and all samples present radon concentration below 100 Bq L−1, the WHO recommendation level.