title: Natural radioactive nuclides and chemical components in the groundwater of Beni Suef Governate, Middle Egypt.
abstract: Measurements of natural radioactivity in drinking water have been performed in many parts of the world, mostly for assessment of the doses and risk resulting from consuming water. A study of the radionuclide and chemical components in groundwater from Beni Suef Governate, Egypt has been carried out. Fifty water samples were analysed by gamma-ray spectroscopy to determine the (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K concentrations; major elements, pH, alkalinity and conductivity were also measured. The activity concentration values ranged from 0.008 to 0.040 Bq l(-1) for (226)Ra, from 0.003 to 0.019 Bq l(-1) for (232)Th and from 0.025 to 0.344 Bq l(-1) for (40)K. The annual ingestion of these radionuclides, using local consumption rates (averaged over the whole population) of 1.5 l d(-1), was estimated to be 8.59, 4.86 and 83.47 Bq y(-1) for (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively. The estimated effective doses from drinking water were found to be 2.4 microSv y(-1) ((226)Ra), 1.1 microSv y(-1) ((232)Th) and 0.5 microSv y(-1) ((40)K). The contribution of these radionuclides to the committed effective dose from a year's consumption of drinking water is therefore estimated to be only 4% of the WHO value (0.1 mSv y(-1)). The moderate pH value is the most important parameter, and there was no observed correlation between natural radioactivity and electrical conductivity or concentrations of major ions.
authors.affiliation: Ionizing Radiation Laboratory, National Institute for Standards, Egypt.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.forename: Rafat M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: M A K
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El Fayoumi
mesh_terms: D004534:Egypt; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011883:Radium / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D013910:Thorium; D011883:Radium