Study of the radon concentrations in drinking water from three main cities of Shaanxi Province, China

Abstract

This paper presents the results of radon concentration measurements in the drinking water from the municipal water supply system and private wells of Xi’an, Xianyang and Baoji city of Shaanxi province of China. The measurements were carried out on 38 samples. Radon levels in drinking water in Xi’an, Xianyang and Baoji were found to be 5.78, 13.04 and 15.01 k Bq m−3, respectively. The AM radon concentration of private well water from Xianyang and Baoji is 28.84 k Bq m−3 and 38.85 k Bq m−3, respectively, which is 2.56 times and 3.14 times as high as that of tap water radon, respectively. The radiation risk of radon in water would be due to degassing and not due to drinking water. The domestic use of showers, humidifiers, and cooking, washing up, laundering, etc. may lead to an additional increase of the radon concentration in the indoor air. The observed radon concentration in drinking water from three main cities of Shaanxi Province can contribute to a 4.86 to 32.63% increase in indoor radon concentration and can cause 0.068±0.016 mSv y−1 to 0.177±0.045 mSv y−1 extra annual effective dose to males, 0.060±0.014 mSv y−1 to 0.155±0.039 mSv y−1 to females. The mean annual effective dose equivalents to males and females of Xianyang and Baoji from well water account for 25.94 to 39.75% of environmental radon and radon daughters annual effective dose equivalents. The radon concentrations in the well water from Xianyang and Baoji will bring a definite additional risk to the population.