Re: Uranium, radium in Groundwater

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@chello.at>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Henry Wood <thenry@viperlink.net>
An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Datum: Donnerstag, 25. Jänner 2001 22:04
Betreff: Uranium, radium in Groundwater


>A friend recently presented me some data from a private drinking water well
>(southeastern USA) that showed the following:
>
>total uranium =     1490 ug/L
>U-233/234 =     711 pCi/L
>U-235/236 =     21.7 pCi/L
>U-238        =  499 pCi/L
>Radium-226 = 418 pCi/L
>
>Obviously, these level exceed MCLs / risk-based activities.
>My question: Is there any way possible these activities are related to a
>geologic formation?


These values are horrifying!!!! Are you sure that this really refers to
drinking water from a private well? I cannot believe it. It looks much more
like untreated waste water from uranium mining.
What makes me even more suspicious is that
- a sum of U-233 and U-234 is given. I do not know of any analytical method
to yield the sum of these two radionuclides and anyway U-233 could only be
present in negligible amounts, but I am far from knowing everything. U-234
is usually present in approximately the same activity concentration as
U-238, but of course disequilibrium occurs frequently.
- U-236 is only produced by neutron capture of U-235, which means that it
can only be produced in a nuclear reactor and is otherwise not present on
earth. Again I do not know any analytical method which would yield the sum
of these two radionuclides and again I emphasize that I do not know
everything.
- I do not know by heart the activity concentration ratio of U-235 and
U-238, but I have a strong feeling that the ratio given in these results
does not correspond to the 0.7 % U-235 based on weight.
- The Ra-226 concentration claimed would be a nightmare and it is absolutely
unbelievable. It would be more than 100 fold the maximum permissible limits
valid in most countries and anyway in the European Union.
- I miss values for the daughter products of radium-226, starting from
radon, which is usually higher by several orders of magnitude than the
Ra-226 activity concentrations and also for Pb-210 and Po-210 which are of
similar toxicity like Ra-226 and Ra-228. They would be of much radiation
protection concern.

In Europe there are drinking water supplies with alarming levels of
naturally occuring radionuclides in Sweden and especially Finland, but they
are lower by orders of magnitude than the values you cited.

Since I used to work a lot with natural radioactivity in drinking water, I
would appreciate if you could keep me informed about this case and what is
behind it. Please take it to my private e-mail-address.

Franz


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