Study of radiation dose due to 226Ra, 222Rn, and 210Po in drinking water of Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India

Groundwater carries radioactive elements like 226Ra, 222Rn, and 210Po during its flow beneath and above the land. When this water is used for drinking, cooking and other household purposes, the radioactive substances in the water may enter the human body and cause adverse health effects. This study was conducted to determine the distribution of 226Ra, 222Rn, and 210Po in the groundwater samples of Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka, India. The activity of 222Rn in 66 places was studied using the smart radon monitor. The activity of 226Ra, and 210Po was studied at 12 places using emanometry technique and radiochemical analysis, respectively. The activity of 222Rn in groundwater samples varied from 0.94 ± 0.13 to 26.90 ± 3.53 Bq L−1 with an average of 4.44 ± 0.56 Bq L−1. The activity of 226Ra, and 210Po varied from 2.18 ± 0.31 to 96.42 ± 16.55 mBq L−1 with an average of 31.38 ± 9.93 mBq L−1 and 0.72 ± 0.24 to 6.33 ± 0.88 mBq L−1 with an average of 2.86 ± 0.52 mBq L−1, respectively. A good correlation between 226Ra, 222Rn, and 210Po was observed, indicating that they might be of the same origin. The average ingestion dose due to 226Ra, 222Rn, and 210Po were 6.41, 11.58, and 2.51 µSv y−1 respectively, which is less than the recommended effective dose of 100 µSv y−1 associated with the intake of radionuclide from drinking water by WHO.