Investigation of Radon Concentrations in Buraydah Municipal Water Network, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas, is the main source of the natural radiation that is received by the population. It derives from the traces of radium in rocks and can diffuse directly or as solution in water to the earth’s surface. Measurements of 222Rn concentration in a total of 21 water samples collected from Buraydah municipal water network investigated. The concentrations of 222Rn were measured by g-ray spectrometry using HPGe detector and radon detector RAD7 H2O techniques. The radon activity concentration is determined by taking the weighted average of the concentrations derived from g-ray lines associated with 214Pb and 214Bi decay. It was found that the concentration of 222Rn ranged from 1.79 ± 0.5 to 9.28 ± 1.17 Bq/l. These values are below 11.1 Bq/l the maximum contamination level recommended from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.