Hydrochemical and geological controls on dissolved radium and radon in northwestern Algeria hydrothermal groundwaters.

This study presents the results of the first investigation on natural occurrence of radium and radon in Algerian thermal water systems. Activity concentrations of Rn and Ra isotopes were measured in sixteen hydrothermal springs of northwestern Algeria. Samples displayed high activities, especially for Rn, Ra and Ra (up to 377 × 10 Bq/m, 730 Bq/m and 4470 Bq/m, respectively).

Elevated radium levels in Nubian Aquifer groundwater of Northeastern Africa.

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System in Northeast Africa and the Middle East is a huge water resource of inestimable value to the population. However, natural radioactivity impairs groundwater quality throughout the aquifer posing a radiological health risk to millions of people. Here we present measurements of radium isotopes in Nubian Aquifer groundwater from population centers in the Western Desert of Egypt.

Geological and hydrogeochemical controls on radium isotopes in groundwater of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.

Radium isotopes (Ra and Ra) were analyzed in 18 groundwater samples from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) and the shallow alluvial aquifers overlying the basement complex of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Groundwater samples from deep Nubian aquifer wells (total depths 747 to 1250m) have Ra and Ra activities ranging from 0.168 to 0.