Natural radioactivity in Algerian bottled mineral waters

The activity concentrations of some radionuclides in Algerian bottled mineral waters were determined using CR-39 nuclear track detectors for 222Rn, and a high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K. The mean specific activities of 222Rn , 226Ra, 231Th and 40K in the drinking mineral waters were 7±4 Bq.l-1, 26±11 mBq.l-1, 30±13 mBq.l-1 and 1±0.5 Bq.l-1, respectively. These values are comparable with concentrations reported for other countries. The effective doses due to intake of these radionuclides as a consequence of direct consumption of drinking mineral waters have been determined. The estimated effective doses were 56.8 mSv.y-1 for 222Rn, 3.94 mSv.y-1 for 226Ra, 4.45 mSv.y-1 for 232Th and 3.33 mSv.y-1 for 40K. Contribution of these radionuclides to the effective dose due to ingestion and inhalation of all terrestrial radionuclides is estimated to be only 0.012%.