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Tremblay-Cantin JC, Martin L, Proulx M, Priest ND, Larivière D. Levels of naturally occurring radioisotopes in local and imported bottled drinking water available in Québec City, Canada. J Environ Radioact 2024; 274:107411. [PMID: 38471302 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2024.107411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Consumption of local and imported bottled water in Canada has greatly increased during the past three decades. While the presence of natural radioactivity is often overlooked when dealing with the water quality of these bottled products, it could contribute substantially to the uptake of radionuclides especially when sourced from regions with higher radioactivity levels compared to where it is consumed. In this study, the activity of several naturally occurring radionuclides (i.e., 210Po, 226,228Ra, 230,232Th, 234,235,238U) were measured in bottled water available in Québec, Canada after sample pretreatment and analysis by either radiometric or mass spectrometry approaches. 230,232Th and 228Ra concentrations were below minimum detectable activity levels in all samples tested. Analytical results for 234U, 235U, 238U, and 226Ra showed concentrations that ranged from 0.38 to 115 mBq/L, (2.2-313) x 10-2 mBq/L, 0.48-58.4 mBq/L, and 1.1-550 mBq/L, respectively. 210Po was detected in only 5 samples and its activity ranged from 2 to 26 mBq/L. To determine variability in activity within brands, the same brands of bottled water were purchased during two consecutive years and analyzed. The possible radiological impact of the consumption of these types of water was assessed based on different drinking habit scenarios. Some of the imported water brands showed higher activity concentrations than local sources or tap water, suggesting that individuals drinking predominantly imported bottled water would receive a higher radiation dose than those who drink mainly local water.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laurie Martin
- Radioecology Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Laval University, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6
| | - Myriame Proulx
- Radioecology Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Laval University, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6
| | - Nicholas D Priest
- Radioecology Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Laval University, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6
| | - Dominic Larivière
- Radioecology Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Laval University, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada, G1V 0A6.
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Zemour Y, Mebrouk N, Mayer A, Mekebret I, Sherif MI. Hydrochemical and geological controls on dissolved radium and radon in northwestern Algeria hydrothermal groundwaters. Chemosphere 2023; 313:137573. [PMID: 36535504 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
This study presents the results of the first investigation on natural occurrence of radium and radon in Algerian thermal water systems. Activity concentrations of Rn and Ra isotopes were measured in sixteen hydrothermal springs of northwestern Algeria. Samples displayed high activities, especially for 222Rn, 224Ra and 226Ra (up to 377 × 103 Bq/m3, 730 Bq/m3 and 4470 Bq/m3, respectively). Approximately, 50% of the investigated springs displayed activities of combined long-lived Ra (226Ra + 228Ra) in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of the WHO and EPA for drinking water. Factors controlling the distribution of radionuclides in the aquifer system are investigated. The observed correlation between Ra isotope and TDS suggests that adsorption/desorption is not the dominant process controlling the distribution of Ra in waters. Our results indicate that the excess SO42- limits the concentration of dissolved Ba2+ and thereby, the elevated Ra activities in these hydrothermal systems are not simply limited by co-precipitation with BaSO4 (barite). The data shows that Ra activities are likely dominated by the recoil process of parent isotopes in the aquifer solids. The minimal abundance of clay minerals and oxides in the aquifer, in addition to thermal activities in northwestern Algeria, significantly enhances the mobilization of Ra into waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youcef Zemour
- University of Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed, GEOREN Laboratory, Géoressources, Environnement & Risques Naturels, B.P. 1015 El M'naouer, 31000, Oran, Algeria.
| | - Naïma Mebrouk
- University of Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed, GEOREN Laboratory, Géoressources, Environnement & Risques Naturels, B.P. 1015 El M'naouer, 31000, Oran, Algeria
| | - Adriano Mayer
- Avignon University, UMR 1114 EMMAH, UAPV, 301 Rue Baruch de Spinoza, BP 21239, F-84916, Avignon, France
| | - Imane Mekebret
- University of Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed, GEOREN Laboratory, Géoressources, Environnement & Risques Naturels, B.P. 1015 El M'naouer, 31000, Oran, Algeria; Paris-Saclay University, Geosciences Laboratory (GEOPS) - CNRS. Rue du Belvédère, Bât. 504, 91405, Orsay, France
| | - Mahmoud I Sherif
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA; Department of Geology, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt
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Huang P, Gao H, Su Q, Zhang Y, Cui M, Chai S, Li Y, Jin Y. Identification of mixing water source and response mechanism of radium and radon under mining in limestone of coal seam floor. Sci Total Environ 2023; 857:159666. [PMID: 36302409 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
With the gradual increase of the coal mining depth, the mixing of multiple water sources intensifies and the activity of radium and radon in groundwater increases. Identifying the source of mine water inrush by using radium and radon isotopes is a new choice. In this paper, the mathematical statistics method, radioactive isotope decay theory, the mass conservation principle, and the numerical simulation method are used to analyze the influence of total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, and the hydrochemical ion content in groundwater on the isotope activity of radium, radon, uranium, thorium, and lead. The activity of thorium and lead is lower than the detection limit of the instrument, and the influence of coal mining activities on it is small. The simulation of the radium-radon mass balance in groundwater shows that the greater the adsorption coefficient (k) of solid particles in groundwater is, the more obvious the adsorption effect and the greater the influence on the radium-radon activity balance are. The radium-radon dating method is used to calculate the groundwater age. Results show that the groundwater age in the closed pit coal mining area is generally older than that in the mining coal mining area. Combined with the 222Rn, 226Ra, and 234U radioactive isotopes and temperature, a mixing water source identification model of limestone in the coal seam floor is constructed. The model shows that the radium activity and temperature of the groundwater are inversely proportional to the mixing ratio of the Permian sandstone water. From the closed pit coal mining area to the mining coal mining area, the radium radon activity of the groundwater increases gradually, the groundwater age decreases significantly, the water cycle is accelerated, the mixing ratio of the Permian sandstone water decreases gradually, the mixing ratio of the Ordovician limestone water increases gradually, and the risk of coal mine water inrush increases. The research results prove the feasibility of the new method for accurately discriminating the mixing water sources in coal mine areas, which is of great significance to the improvement of the theory of coal mine water disaster prevention and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pinghua Huang
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China.
| | - Hongfei Gao
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China.
| | - Qiaoqiao Su
- Henan Yuzhong Geological Exploration Engineering Co., LTD., Zhengzhou, Henan 450016, China
| | - Yanni Zhang
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China
| | - Mengke Cui
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China
| | - Shuangwei Chai
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China
| | - Yuanmeng Li
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China
| | - Yi Jin
- School of Resources and Environment Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China.
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Novikov DA, Khvaschevskaya AA, Kopylova YG, Pyryaev AN, Maksimova AA, Derkachev AS, Dultsev FF, Chernykh AV, Purgina DV. Hydrogeochemistry and stable isotopes in radon-rich thermal waters of Belokurikha (Altai, Russia). Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2022; 29:83081-83098. [PMID: 35761131 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21640-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The first integrated isotope and chemistry results have been obtained for radon-rich thermal waters from the Belokurikha field which are used at a large spa resort in Altai, Russia. The waters reside in an unconfined aquifer composed of Quaternary soft sediments and in a confined (artesian) aquifer of monolithic to weathered Upper Paleozoic granites. The waters belong to three geochemical groups: low-radon nitrogen-silicic interstitial waters in weathered Paleozoic granites; groundwaters of REE-enriched and background compositions; surface waters of the Belokurikha River. The interstitial waters in granites have HCO3-SO4 Na and SO4-HCO3 Na major-ion chemistry, total salinity from 198 to 257 mg/L, pH = 8.6-9.6, silica contents of 19.8 to 24.6 mg/L, and 222Rn activity from 160 to 360 Bq/L (290 Bq/L on average). Judging by their oxygen and hydrogen (deuterium) isotope compositions (-17.5 to -14.2 ‰ and -126.9 to -102.7 ‰, respectively), the Belokurikha aquifers recharge with infiltrating meteoric water, especially the winter precipitation. The carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (-9.7 to -25.6 ‰ δ13СDIC) corresponds to biogenic origin. Comparison of radon-rich mineral waters from different areas of southern Siberia shows that the change from oxidized to reduced environments leads to 232Th/238U increase from 4.20∙10-5-7.39∙10-2 to 0.0022-26, respectively, with an intermediate range of 2.63∙10-5-0.20 in transitional conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry A Novikov
- A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
- Novosibirsk National Research University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | | | - Yulia G Kopylova
- Engineering School for Natural Resources, Tomsk Polytechnical University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Aleksandr N Pyryaev
- Novosibirsk National Research University, Novosibirsk, Russia
- V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Anastasia A Maksimova
- A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
- Novosibirsk National Research University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Anton S Derkachev
- A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
- Novosibirsk National Research University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Fedor F Dultsev
- A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia.
- Novosibirsk National Research University, Novosibirsk, Russia.
| | - Anatoliy V Chernykh
- A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
- Novosibirsk National Research University, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Daria V Purgina
- Engineering School for Natural Resources, Tomsk Polytechnical University, Tomsk, Russia
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Abu-Sharar TM, Al-Jundi J, Al-Abdullah T, Ata S, Khadr S. Radium radioactivity in soil profiles following long term irrigation with high radioactivity fossil groundwater. J Environ Radioact 2022; 251-252:106986. [PMID: 36027820 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
High radioactivity in a relatively saline confined aquifer water in different locations of the Disi area (South East of Jordan) was reported by some authors who recommended further investigation on the impact of that water on irrigated soils. Five well water samples (jointly used for irrigation and drinking) and 28 surface and subsurface soil samples from five profiles were collected from that area for the purpose of this study. Selected mineralogical, chemical, and physical properties of the soil samples were determined. Mineralogical compositions of the 28 soil samples were identified using x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, and ICP-MS techniques. Determination of activity concentrations of 238U, 226Ra and 228Ra in the five well waters and 22 soil samples from 4 sites (including a native soil) were determined using γ-ray spectroscopy. The results showed low salinity levels of both soil and water samples and low clay and organic matter contents in all soil samples. Kaolinite and mica were the dominant clay minerals with Fe substituting Al in the octahedral layer of these minerals. The average activity concentration of 226Ra and 228Ra in the well-water samples were 0.31 ± 0.09 and 1.74 ± 0.12 BqL-1, respectively. Such a high specific activity could be ascribed to the water enrichment with 228Ra diffusing from 232Th-rich sandstone geologic strata. Average concentrations of 238U and 232Th in the soil samples (0-120 cm depth) were 1.48 ± 0.38 mg kg-1 and 4.78 ± 1.55 mg kg-1, respectively. High correlation between these two radionuclides (R2 = 0.90) indicated no specific enhancement of these two metals from external sources, especially through chemical precipitation from irrigation water. Average activity concentration of 238U, 226Ra, and 228Ra in the soil samples were substantially low (20.8 ± 5.6, 16.94 ± 4.48, and 20.7 ± 6.2 Bq kg-1, respectively). No particular changes were observed when comparing concentration or radioactivity of these radionuclides with depth of a given soil or between irrigated and native soil samples at comparable depths. This could lead to the conclusion that there was no appreciable precipitation or adsorption of these radioactive metals from the percolating irrigation water onto the sandy soil complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Abu-Sharar
- Department of Land, Water and Environment, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - J Al-Jundi
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science. The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
| | - T Al-Abdullah
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science. The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - S Ata
- Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, Amman, Jordan
| | - S Khadr
- Department of Land, Water and Environment, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
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He R, Liaw S, Zhou M, Zhou XD, Luo H. Environmental evaluation of radioactivity levels and associated radiation hazards in groundwater around the WIPP site. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2022; 242:113849. [PMID: 35809394 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater may contain radioactive substances which can be dangerous to human health. Concentrations of natural radionuclides polonium (Po), thorium (Th), uranium (U), and radium (Ra) isotopes were measured in groundwater samples collected from different locations in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The average values of gross activity concentrations of 210Po, 228Th, 238U, 234U, 226Ra and 228 Ra isotopes were determined to be 1.62 Bq L-1 in shallow groundwater and 5.88 Bq L-1 in deep groundwater, respectively. The total radioactivity in deep groundwater was higher than that in shallow groundwater, and most of the radioactivity in the water is from 226Ra. Furthermore, the effective doses for ingestion of natural radionuclides were about 0.333 mSv y-1 for shallow groundwater and about 1.338 mSv y-1 for deep groundwater samples, which are higher than the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017) guideline level (0.1 mSv y-1) for drinking water. Ra dominated the total ingestion dose, contributing 93.06 % and 75.40 % of the total effective doses to the deep and shallow groundwater, respectively. The ingrowth and decay of natural radionuclides suggested that 228Ra/226Ra ratio can be a useful indicator of the source of radioactive contamination. The radioactivity data obtained from the investigated groundwater samples can be used to establish a baseline for radioactivity levels in groundwater around the WIPP site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong He
- Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - Steven Liaw
- Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - Meng Zhou
- Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - Xiao-Dong Zhou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute for Materials Research and Innovations, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA.
| | - Hongmei Luo
- Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA.
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Fallatah O, Ahmed M, Gyawali B, Alhawsawi A. Factors controlling groundwater radioactivity in arid environments: An automated machine learning approach. Sci Total Environ 2022; 830:154707. [PMID: 35331768 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have high levels of natural radioactivity. Within the northwestern KSA, gross alpha (α) and gross beta (β) levels exceed national and international drinking-water limits. In this study, we developed and used an automated machine learning (AML) approach to quantify relationships between gross α and gross β activities and different geological, hydrogeological, and geochemical conditions. Two AML model groups (group I for gross α; group II for gross β) were constructed, using water samples collected from 360 irrigation and water supply wells, to define a robust model that explains the spatial variability in gross α and gross β activities, as well as variables that control the gross activities. Each group contained four model families: deep neural network (DNN), gradient boosting machine (GBM), generalized linear model (GLM), and distributed random forest (DRF). Model inputs include chemical compositions as well as geological and hydrogeological conditions. Three performance metrics were used to evaluate the models during training and testing: normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), and Nash-Sutcliff efficiency (NSE) coefficient. Results indicate that (1) the GBM model outperformed (training: NRMSE: 0.37 ± 0.10; r: 0.92 ± 0.05; NSE: 0.85 ± 0.09; testing: NRMSE: 0.71 ± 0.08; r: 0.72 ± 0.08; NSE: 0.49 ± 0.12) the DNN, DRF, and GLM models when modelling gross α activities; (2) gross α activities are controlled by pH, stream density, nitrate, manganese, and vegetation index; (3) the DRF model outperformed (training: NRMSE: 0.41 ± 0.05; r: 0.92 ± 0.02; NSE: 0.83 ± 0.04; testing: NRMSE: 0.67 ± 0.09; r: 0.77 ± 0.07; NSE: 0.54 ± 0.12) the GBM, DNN, and GLM models when modelling gross β activities; (4) input variables that affect the gross β actives are pH, temperature, stream density, lithology, and nitrate; and (5) no single model could be used to model both gross α and gross β activities-instead, a combination of AML models should be used. Our computationally efficient approach provides a framework and insights for using AML techniques in water quality investigations and promotes more and improved use of different geological, hydrogeological, and geochemical datasets by the scientific community and decision makers to develop guidelines for mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Othman Fallatah
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Ahmed
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA.
| | - Bimal Gyawali
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - Abdulsalam Alhawsawi
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
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GebreEgziabher M, Jasechko S, Perrone D. Widespread and increased drilling of wells into fossil aquifers in the USA. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2129. [PMID: 35440593 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29678-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Most stored groundwater is ‘fossil’ in its age, having been under the ground for more than ~12 thousand years. Mapping where wells tap fossil aquifers is relevant for water quality and quantity management. Nevertheless, the prevalence of wells that tap fossil aquifers is not known. Here we show that wells that are sufficiently deep to tap fossil aquifers are widespread, though they remain outnumbered by shallower wells in most areas. Moreover, the proportion of newly drilled wells that are deep enough to tap fossil aquifers has increased over recent decades. However, this widespread and increased drilling of wells into fossil aquifers is not necessarily associated with groundwater depletion, emphasizing that the presence of fossil groundwater does not necessarily indicate a non-renewable water supply. Our results highlight the importance of safeguarding fossil groundwater quality and quantity to meet present and future water demands. Fossil groundwater has been under the ground for more than ~12 thousand years. Here the authors show that many wells in the United States tap fossil groundwater resources, and that the frequency that wells are drilled into fossil aquifers is increasing, highlighting the importance of safeguarding fossil groundwater quality and quantity to meet present and future water demands.
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Vengosh A, Coyte RM, Podgorski J, Johnson TM. A critical review on the occurrence and distribution of the uranium- and thorium-decay nuclides and their effect on the quality of groundwater. Sci Total Environ 2022; 808:151914. [PMID: 34856287 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This critical review presents the key factors that control the occurrence of natural elements from the uranium- and thorium-decay series, also known as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), including uranium, radium, radon, lead, polonium, and their isotopes in groundwater resources. Given their toxicity and radiation, elevated levels of these nuclides in drinking water pose human health risks, and therefore understanding the occurrence, sources, and factors that control the mobilization of these nuclides from aquifer rocks is critical for better groundwater management and human health protection. The concentrations of these nuclides in groundwater are a function of the groundwater residence time relative to the decay rates of the nuclides, as well as the net balance between nuclides mobilization (dissolution, desorption, recoil) and retention (adsorption, precipitation). This paper explores the factors that control this balance, including the relationships between the elemental chemistry (e.g., solubility and speciation), lithological and hydrogeological factors, groundwater geochemistry (e.g., redox state, pH, ionic strength, ion-pairs availability), and their combined effects and interactions. The various chemical properties of each of the nuclides results in different likelihoods for co-occurrence. For example, the primordial 238U, 222Rn, and, in cases of high colloid concentrations also 210Po, are all more likely to be found in oxic groundwater. In contrast, in reducing aquifers, Ra nuclides, 210Pb, and in absence of high colloid concentrations, 210Po, are more mobile and frequently occur in groundwater. In highly permeable sandstone aquifers that lack sufficient adsorption sites, Ra is often enriched, even in low salinity and oxic groundwater. This paper also highlights the isotope distributions, including those of relatively long-lived nuclides (238U/235U) with abundances that depend on geochemical conditions (e.g., fractionation induced from redox processes), as well as shorter-lived nuclides (234U/238U, 228Ra/226Ra, 224Ra/228Ra, 210Pb/222Rn, 210Po/210Pb) that are strongly influenced by physical (recoil), lithological, and geochemical factors. Special attention is paid in evaluating the ability to use these isotope variations to elucidate the sources of these nuclides in groundwater, mechanisms of their mobilization from the rock matrix (e.g., recoil, ion-exchange), and retention into secondary mineral phases and ion-exchange sites.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Joel Podgorski
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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Huynh Nguyen Phong T, Van Thang N, Ngoc Ba V, Hao LC, Loan TTH. Treatment for removing radium in soil and groundwater. Appl Radiat Isot 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2022.110127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Ratia JM, Hernando AP, Aguilar C, Ballarín FB. Role of lithology in the presence of natural radioactivity in drinking water samples from Tarragona province. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021; 28:39333-39344. [PMID: 33759098 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13470-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
One hundred and ninety-six drinking water samples from the different regions of Tarragona province (Catalonia, Spain) were analysed to determine the gross alpha and beta activity. Individual alpha emitting isotope activities were also determined to evaluate a possible relationship between their radiological content and the lithological and hydrogeological formations present in the studied area. The results obtained showed that approximately 23% of the analysed samples, mainly from five of the evaluated regions, had a gross alpha index exceeding the parametric value of 0.1 Bq/L for waters intended for human consumption according to the current legislation. This could be related to the presence of natural radionuclides in these water samples. The differences between the radiological content in these samples could be related to the different lithological conditions of the areas included in this study. High activity levels of 234U, 238U, 224Ra, 226Ra and 228Ra were detected in specific samples, mainly from granitic and carbonate areas. This research also focuses on evaluating the radiological risk associated with water ingestion. In this regard, consuming 95.5% of the drinking water samples analysed would not imply a health risk to the population as the annual effective doses calculated were below 0.1 mSv/year. There was only one sample that exceeded this level with a value of 0.33 mSv/year. 226Ra activity concentration was the radionuclide that mainly contributed to this dose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Martínez Ratia
- Departament de Química Analítica i Química Orgànica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Unitat de Radioquímica Ambiental i Sanitaria (URAIS), Consorci d'Aigües de Tarragona (CAT), Carretera Nacional 340, Km. 1094, 43895 L'Ampolla, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Alejandra Peñalver Hernando
- Departament de Química Analítica i Química Orgànica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Unitat de Radioquímica Ambiental i Sanitaria (URAIS), Consorci d'Aigües de Tarragona (CAT), Carretera Nacional 340, Km. 1094, 43895 L'Ampolla, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Carme Aguilar
- Departament de Química Analítica i Química Orgànica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Unitat de Radioquímica Ambiental i Sanitaria (URAIS), Consorci d'Aigües de Tarragona (CAT), Carretera Nacional 340, Km. 1094, 43895 L'Ampolla, Tarragona, Spain.
| | - Francesc Borrull Ballarín
- Departament de Química Analítica i Química Orgànica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Unitat de Radioquímica Ambiental i Sanitaria (URAIS), Consorci d'Aigües de Tarragona (CAT), Carretera Nacional 340, Km. 1094, 43895 L'Ampolla, Tarragona, Spain
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Mallick J, Singh CK, Almesfer MK, Singh VP, Alsubih M. Groundwater Quality Studies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Prevalent Research and Management Dimensions. Water 2021; 13:1266. [DOI: 10.3390/w13091266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Groundwater is a valuable resource because it is widely used for drinking, and for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. Globally, Saudi Arabia is known to be one of the driest regions with scarce water resources. The shallow groundwater near the major cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is becoming polluted because of industrial effluent discharge, use of fertilizers in agriculture and domestic sewerage in the region. This review tries to focus on groundwater quality problems due to anthropogenic or geogenic sources in the region of Saudi Arabia. In this paper, we focus on different water-quality variables, for groundwater quality evaluation and aquifer vulnerability assessment due to pollutants/contaminants present in groundwater. The current study gives a holistic understanding of different groundwater quality problems and therefore identifies the gaps of the previous studies and identifies the viewpoints of the future research dimensions. We describe the different groundwater quality problems related to toxicities of the fluoride, nitrate, and heavy metals and radionuclides in Saudi Arabia. A majority of the groundwater pollutants are of natural origin, but there is significant wastewater effluent discharge in the region that is also responsible for contamination of aquifers with heavy metals.
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Ebaid YY, Nasr MM, Santos JKB, Makhlouf O. Behavior of uranium series in groundwater of the Wajid Formation, Wadi AdDawasir, Saudi Arabia. Environ Monit Assess 2020; 192:564. [PMID: 32757090 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-020-08518-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The inventories and the possible mechanisms behind the relative deficiency of both radium and uranium release processes within an elevated gamma-anomalous rock were investigated. A field survey was performed on the highest radioactive anomalous zone that was recorded at Jabal Al Alam (20° 13' 10.06″ N and 44° 14' 32.13″), with the ferruginous sandstone, iron oxide band, and iron concretions (with uranium content and reaching up to1500 ppm). The chemical analyses and the laboratory's gamma-ray spectrometric measurements demonstrated high uranium levels in the analyzed rock samples of the Wajid Sandstone (up to 1000 ppm). The borehole geophysical logs further confirmed that the radioactive anomalies are attributed to the sandstone sequence of the Wajid Formation that is often found associated with elevated concentrations of uranium. The groundwater samples taken from the wells tapping the Wajid aquifer showed uranium concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 5.5 ppb (μg/L). The average 226Ra in groundwater samples was 0.2 Bq L-1. The majority of the 226Ra and 228Ra activities were below the lower limit of detection (LLD). The radiochemical analyses of water samples from the Wajid aquifer display low concentrations of both uranium and 226Ra, with relation to uranium content in host rocks. This was attributed to the fact that uranium is susceptible to form iron oxide complexes, causing them to precipitate in a more stable form. Furthermore, iron oxides coat the sand grains of the Wajid Formation and accordingly might act as a foundation for re-adsorption for both uranium and radium, resulting in their relative deficiency in the surrounding water. The coating might also act as a physical barrier resulting in hindrance of the recoil nuclei due to its significant thickness (several orders of magnitude) compared with that of the average (120 nm) whole alpha-recoil track (ART). The coating layer thickness was determined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and was found to be up to 180 μm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Y Ebaid
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Fayoum University, Fayoum, 63514, Egypt.
| | - M M Nasr
- Nuclear Material Authority, Cairo, Egypt
| | - J K B Santos
- Technology Experts Company, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - O Makhlouf
- Technology Experts Company, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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