Natural radioactivity in bottled natural spring,mineral and therapeutic waters in Poland

Activities of ²³⁸U, ²³⁴U, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²⁴Ra as well as total α- and β-activities of 23 bottled spring, mineral and therapeutic waters produced and distributed in southern and central Poland are presented. The activities vary from a few tenth to a few mBq·L⁻¹ for uranium and to several hundred mBq·L⁻¹ for radium isotopes. The activities of ⁴⁰K were calculated from chemical analyses of potassium and checked for several mineral waters by gamma-spectrometer coupled with an HPGe detector. Positive correlation between water mineralization and activities of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, as well as total alpha- and total beta-activities were observed. The radiological annual doses were calculated for all investigated waters and for different human age groups assuming the consumption of 1 liter of water per day. The calculated committed effective dose rate from uranium and radium isotopes resulting from consumption of the investigated waters exceeds the recommended value of 0.1 mSv per year in seventeen cases for infants and in one case for adults.