Re: Water Irradiation?

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: Kai Kaletsch <info@eic.nu>

An: RadSafe <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Datum: Freitag, 05. Juli 2002 04:35

Betreff: Water Irradiation?





Not sure how aware the rest of the world is about this, but here in Canada

there have been some issues with people getting sick or dying from bugs in

the drinking water over the last couple of years. Water treatment has been a

municipal issue but now the feds and provinces are getting more involved.



Some communities absolutely refuse to chlorinate their water. I was

wondering if anyone knew what kind of dose it would take to kill the bugs in

the water. Could that be achieved by putting some Cs-137 or Co-60 next to a

water pipe? Would it cause the pipe to fall apart? Any side effects to the

water?



--------------------------------------------------------



Kai,



I am answering on grounds of an European opinion. The communities have to

provide people with healthy drinking water. You do not mention what kind of

"bugs" you have in your drinking water. This does not matter, it has to be

free of any health related contaminants - even of excess activities of

radionuclides. There is a rather strict European Union Directive on Drinking

Water. It is not the responsibility of the consumer to purify his water, if

the supply comes from the community!



UV- treatment is well known, I think that other comments have given you a

guidance and your local plumber should be able to give you more information.



Treatment of water by gamma-radiation has been proposed in the case of a

water supply south of Vienna, where the water was contaminated by

chlorinated hydrocarbons. The meaning was, that the chlorinated hydrocarbons

should have been transferred by gamma-rays to HCl  and CO2, thus eliminating

them from the drinking water. This application was not permitted, because

according to Austrian law the treatment of food (and drinking water is by

definition "food") with ionizing radiation has to be authorized. And it was

not.



I can very well estimate the upcry of our mass media, if radiation treatment

of drinking water would be permitted. So it is politically not possible,

even if it would be feasable and beneficial.



If water suppliers deliver unhealthy and dangerous drinking water, they will

be held responsible for. If somebody does not want to receive chlorinated

water, he or she should be cordially invited to terminate the contract with

the drinking water supplier and use bottled water instead. I am sure that

the cost difference will make most of them to accept the chlorinated water.



Franz









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