Safe water: New method of analyzing radios in drinking water

Thanh Van

A new technique for testing public drinking water samples to see if the presence of radioactive elements can reduce inspection time significantly. This technique was developed by Bernd Kahn, director of the ERC Environmental Radiation Center of Georgia GTRI Institute of Technology and scientist Robert Rosson.

While radios are found in low doses in soil, water, plants and food, humans are most likely to be exposed to radioactivity through drinking water. Research has shown that breathing, injection, digestion or body exposure to a large amount of radioactivity will cause cancer and other disorders. Because radioactivity has the same chemical properties as calcium, it is potentially harmful when replacing calcium in bones.

New techniques reduce the time needed to test samples of drinking water containing radios.(Photo: Georgia Tech Photo: Gary Meek)

As a result, drinking water systems should be sampled and analyzed to determine the amount of isotopes, radium-226 and radium-228 in water samples, these two isotopes are sometimes found in water supplies. to drink.

The method only needs 2 steps . First, add hydrochloric acid and barium chloride to the water sample and boil always. Then add concentrated sulfuric acid and collect, dry and weigh the radioactive precipitate. These samples will then be measured by gamma-ray spectrometry to determine the content of radio-226 and radium-228.

Gamma-ray spectroscopy determines the energy and speed of gamma rays analysis by emitted radioactive substances. When retrieving and analyzing emitted things, the energy spectrum can be generated. A detailed analysis of this spectrum is used to determine the homogeneity and number of radioisotopes present in the source.

'The old method used to take four hours to test each type of radios - a total of eight hours to test for radios-226 and radium-228. But this method carries out both tests at the same time and takes only half an hour for a technician to perform. '

Radiometric methods previously approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency require some internal separation and filtration steps. These steps all end with a complex final preparation step before being measured with an alpha flashing detection system. The flashing detector detects and counts light rays generated when a radioactive substance interacts with a special coating on the inside of the detection container.

If the total radioactive concentration measured is more than 5 picocuries per liter, that water source is outside the acceptable range . This requires that the water source be replaced or treated to reduce radios.