Activity concentrations in bottled drinking water in Saudi Arabia and consequent dose estimates
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Abstract
The natural radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were determined in different brands of bottled drinking water samples collected from the local market of Saudi Arabia. The average measured activity concentrations of the nuclides were found to be 0.77, 1.3 and 11.1 Bq l-1, respectively. The total average annual effective doses due to all three natural radionuclides on different age groups of infants, children and adults were estimated. The measured activity concentrations were compared with similar studies and the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in bottled drinking water were found to be lower than most of these values. Also, the effective doses resulting from the consumption of bottled drinking water estimated for the three age groups were found to be below the WHO recommended limit of 0.1 mSv y-1. The results can serve as baseline levels of activity concentration in drinking water in Saudi Arabia.
Keywords: Natural radioactivity, effective dose.
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