Natural radionuclides in bottled water in Austria

Concentration levels of Ra-226, Rn-222 and Pb-210 were analyzed in domestic bottled waters commercially available in Austria. Concentrations up to 0.23 Bq/l, with a geometric mean of 0.041 Bq/l were found for Ra-226. Concentrations for Rn-222 ranged from <0.12-18 Bq/l, the geometric mean being 0.54 Bq/l. Lead-210 was analyzed in selected samples, the concentrations ranging from <2 to 34 mBq/l, with a geometric mean of 4.7 mBq/l. Ingestion doses resulting from consumption of these waters were calculated for the geometric mean and the maximum concentrations of the three radionuclides. The effective dose equivalents for different age groups of the population due to the intake of Ra-226 range from 0.001 to 0.22 mSv/y and of Pb-210 from 0.0003 to 0.05 mSv/y. Ingestion doses from Rn-222 are low compared to those from Ra-226 and Pb-210, ranging from 0.0001 to 0.011 mSv/y for adults and children, respectively. The doses are compared to the total ingestion dose from dietary intake of natural radionuclides on an annual basis. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.