Assessment of Annual Effective Dose Due to Inhalation and Ingestion of Radon From Groundwater at the Southeast Coastal Area, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Naturally occurring radon-222 was evaluated for its use in estimating annual effective dose exposure in groundwater samples of the southeast coastal area of Bangladesh. On-site radon concentration was measured in groundwater using AlphaGUARD PQ2000 PRO (Saphymo, Germany) radon monitor. The measured values range 0.36-15.70\xa0Bq per l, which lies within the safe limit of 4-40\xa0Bq per l recommended by UNSCEAR. On the contrary, few samples show radon concentration above the safe limit of 11.1\xa0Bq per l recommended by USEPA. The mean annual effective doses due to ingestion and inhalation resulting from radon in groundwater vary from 0.99 to 42.87\xa0μSv per y with an average value of 12.45\xa0μSv per y, which is far below the safe limit 100\xa0μSv per y recommended by WHO and EU. Results reveal that there is no significant public health hazard due to radon ingestion and inhalation from groundwater in the study area.