Natural Activity Concentrations in Bottled Drinking Water and Consequent Doses

Abstract

The radioactivity concentrations of nuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K in bottled drinking water from six different manufacturers from Turkey were measured using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. The measurement was done using a coaxial high-purity germanium detector system coupled to Ortec-Dspect jr digital MCA system. The average measured activity concentrations of the nuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K are found to be 0.781, 1.05 and 2.19 Bq l -1, respectively. The measured activity concentrations have been compared with similar studies from different locations. The annual effective doses for ingestion of radionuclides in the water are found to be 0.0246 mSv for 238U and 0.169 mSv for 232Th. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.