Radioactivity in bottled waters sold in Mexico

doi:10.1016/S0969-8043(02)00047-7

Applied Radiation and Isotopes

Volume 56, Issue 6, June 2002, Pages 931-936

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-8043(02)00047-7 Get rights and content

Abstract

Measurements of gross alpha and beta activities were made on 21 domestic and international brands of bottled (purified and mineral) water sold in the Mexican market to assess its radiological quality. Alpha and beta activities were determined using a liquid-scintillation detector with pulse-shape analysis feature. All the purified water had values of beta activity lower than the limit for potable drinking water (1.0 Bq/l), while three brands surpassed the limit of alpha activity (0.1 Bq/l).

The limit for alpha radioactivity content was exceed by three mineral waters; the results show a correlation between radioactivity content and mineral salts, which are related with the origin and treatment of the waters.

Introduction

National and international regulations for many products and substances consumed by humans are intended to ensure a minimum risk from natural and artificial harmful substances. Efforts to determine levels of such substances will help in the development of guidelines for the protection of the human beings.

Natural radioactivity originates mainly from ⁴⁰K and primordial radionuclides from the uranium and thorium series; others, such as ³H and ¹⁴C, are also naturally occurring radionuclides from cosmogenic processes (Kathren, 1998). Natural waters contain several alpha and beta emitting isotopes in widely varying concentrations. When ingested by humans they contribute to the dose due to natural sources. Alpha-particle emitters are of special concern because of their high linear energy transfer.

Mexican regulations for radioactivity levels in drinking water are based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO, 1993), and are set by the Secretarı́a de Salubridad y Asistencia (DOF, 1996). Limit values for gross alpha and beta radioactivity concentrations in potable water are 0.1 and 1.0 Bq/l, respectively. According to WHO guidelines, gross alpha radioactivity includes all the alpha emitters, excluding radon; gross beta radioactivity includes all beta emitters, excepting ³H. These guidelines ensure an exposure lower than 0.1 mSv/yr assuming a water consumption rate of 2 l/d. Although the consumption of bottled drinking water in Mexico has increased, regulation for the quality of this kind of water with regard to limits for radioactivity content is not specific (DOF, 1995). For this reason, studies of the quality of bottled water should be performed in order to guarantee a low level of radioactivity.

Some studies on the radioactivity content of bottled water have shown that limit values are exceeded. For example, Cooper et al. (1981) determined the activity concentration for ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and ²¹⁰Po in Australian bottled mineral water and concluded that some brands of water contain radioactivity in excess of the drinking water limits recommended by Australian and overseas authorities.

Recently, Martı́n Sánchez et al. (1999) determined the radioactivity content in Spanish bottled mineral water and their results revealed that some waters had high values on the total alpha and beta concentration, values surpassing the reference levels established by the Spanish Regulatory Organization.

With the aim of testing radiological quality, we analyzed 27 domestic and international marketing brands of bottled water, using the liquid-scintillation counting technique with pulse-shape analysis (PSA) feature for determining alpha and beta activities.

Section snippets

Experimental work

Twenty-seven brands of bottled water were purchased at different self-service outlets from Zacatecas and Chihuahua cities, Mexico. Twenty-two brands were of purified water and five of mineral water. In order to reduce the quenching effect produced by additives, the bottled water samples had no treatment or preparation prior to analysis.

The gross alpha and beta radioactivity was measured with a Wallac-1411-001^TM DSA liquid scintillation counter. The counter is equipped with a pulse-shape

Results and discussion

The set of conditions for the counting technique are given in Table 1, (Dávila et al., 1999). MDA values were low enough to determine radioactivity concentrations below permissible limit values for drinking water.

The label on each brand contained different information. Only eight displayed chemical analysis of the water, but no one provided information on radioactivity content. The kind of treatments applied to the purified waters by the producer are listed in Table 2; this information was not

Conclusions

The beta radioactivity in all investigated brands of bottled purified waters are below the level allowed in Mexican regulations. With respect to alpha radioactivity, the contribution of uranium is significant in La Bufa, Kabala, and Evian brands surpassing the indicative level set by the current Mexican regulations. Evian brand, an international marketing brand, was analyzed by Martı́n Sánchez et al. (1999) and the gross alpha and beta radioactivity was lower than the radioactivity content

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the CONACYT for financial support to project 2631-PN. We also thank to Dr. Marcos SOLACHE-RÍOS, for valuable discussion and suggestions in this paper.

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Radioactivity in bottled waters sold in Mexico

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Experimental work

Results and discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

Appl. Radiat. Isot.

Appl. Radiat. Isot.

Drinking water contribution to natural background radiation

Health Phys.

Limits for qualitative detection and quantitative determination

Anal. Chem.