A preliminary study on the radon concentrations in water in Hong Kong and the associated health effects.
Tap water, flushing water and drinking water including natural mineral water, artificial mineral water and distilled water have been investigated for their radon concentrations. It has been found that the radon concentration in natural mineral water samples is the highest and that in tap water is the second highest, while other categories have values very near to the detection limit. From these the corresponding annual effective doses for the stomach and the lung are determined. It is found that annual effective dose due to direct consumption of water (mineral and tap water) is far greater than that due to inhalation of radon emanated from tap water and flushing water. Moreover, it is also shown that the annual effective doses due to inhalation of radon emanated from tap water and flushing water is negligible when compared to the total annual effective dose for indoor radon in Hong Kong.
Yu
K N
KN
Department of Applied Science, City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong.
Guan
Z J
ZJ
Stokes
M J
MJ
Young
E C
EC
D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D017687:Radon Daughters / Q000032:analysis*; D012588:Scintillation Counting; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
D017687:Radon Daughters; D014867:Water; D011886:Radon