Title: 222Rn in public water supply and risk estimate of cancer in the metropolitan area from Recife, Brazil

Authors: C.M. Silva; C.E.O. Costa Júnior

Addresses: Escola Politécnica da Universidade de Pernambuco-Campus Benfica, Rua Benfica 455, Recife, PE 50720-001, Brazil ' Departamento de Energia Nuclear, Grupo de Estudos em Radioproteção e Radioecologia (GERAR), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Luiz Freire, 1000, Recife, Pernambuco, CEP-50740-540, Brazil

Abstract: The metropolitan area of Recife is characterised by high population density. Owing to the lack of radiometric assessments in public water supply, this work was designed to determine 222Rn concentration in public water supply samples of the metropolitan area from Recife with high natural radiation in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. To determine 222Rn concentrations the technique of liquid scintillation was employed. The samples showed concentrations ranging from 5 Bq l−1 to 84 Bq l−1. In this report, the results and the radiation-induced health effects are presented as well as discussed.

Keywords: public water supply; ingestion risk; cancer risks; risk assessment; cancer; metropolitan areas; Recife; Brazil; natural radiation; radon-222; liquid scintillation; health hazards; radioactivity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLR.2015.074409

International Journal of Low Radiation, 2015 Vol.10 No.2, pp.107 - 115

Received: 10 Mar 2015
Accepted: 20 Jul 2015

Published online: 28 Jan 2016 *

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