Comprehensive analysis of naturally occurring radionuclides in well water: Isotopic ratios, mitigation, and dose assessment.

In Sweden, around 20 % of the potable water comes from groundwater sources and about one million people drink water from their private wells. In areas with moderate or high abundance of naturally occurring radionuclides in the bedrock, the groundwater could be enhanced with radio and chemically toxic elements such as uranium, radium, lead and polonium. Therefore, this study aims to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the behaviour and radiological impact of naturally occurring radionuclides in well water.

Analysis of radioactivity in commercially available products aiming to improve health and wellness.

There are products available on the online market that are claim to contain unique 'energies' that can improve health and wellness by eliminating toxins and pains and energising food and drinking water. We investigated these products by alpha and gamma spectrometry, and the analysis showed that they contained a few to hundreds of kilobecquerels per kilogram of naturally occurring radionuclides from the 232Th and 238U series. The committed effective dose for an adult drinking water that had been in contact with these products just once was estimated to 12 nSv.

Radiometrical and physico-chemical characterisation of contaminated glass waste from a glass dump in Sweden.

Around former glass factories in south eastern Sweden, there are dozens of dumps whose radioactivity and physico-chemical properties were not investigated previously. Thus, radiometric and physico-chemical characteristics of waste at Madesjö glass dump were studied to evaluate pre-recycling storage requirements and potential radiological and environmental risks. The material was sieved, hand-sorted, leached and scanned with X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF).