Assessment of the radiation safety of drinking water and surface water bodies used for recreational purposes in the Voronezh region

AIM: This study aimed to assess the radiation safety of surface water bodies used for recreational purposes and drinking water used by the population of the Voronezh Region (VR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The fond materials of the Rospotrebnadzor Administration in VR in 2015–2019 were used. The following parameters were analyzed: total α and β activities and specific activity of radioactive substances in the water of open reservoirs (137Сs, 210Po, 226Ra, and 228Ra) and in the sources of drinking water (210Po and 222Rn). The annual effective dose was calculated on the basis of the probable consumption of drinking water from the centralized drinking water supply systems. The content of radionuclides in the water of open reservoirs was analyzed in three control points and in drinking water found in 2,036 water intake artesian wells of the centralized drinking water supply systems. Then, 100% of the sources were surveyed in terms of total α and β activities. The radiation safety of bottled drinking water from nine manufacturers was assessed on the basis of the data of the Federal State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance. Water in open reservoirs and drinking water, including water packaged in containers, were laboratory controlled on the basis of an accredited testing laboratory center (Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the VR) by using MKS-01A Multirad spectrometric installation (Akvilon, Russia). UMF-2000 α- and β-radiometers were utilized to measure small activities (NPP, Doza, Russia). RESULTS: According to the regional databases of Rospotrebnadzor Administration regarding water from open water bodies for the population (three monitoring points: Tikhaya Sosna, Sukhaya Khvorostan, and Usman rivers) in 2015–2019, values did not exceed the intervention limit that was registered in terms of the content of the controlled radioactive substances (210Ро, 234U, 222Rn, and 137Сs) and the total α and β activities. Water from artesian wells used for drinking and domestic purposes fully met the requirements of radiation safety. The average annual effective radiation doses (AAERD) of the population in the VO in 74 settlements within the zones of radioactive contamination due to the Chernobyl disaster ranged from 0.05 mSv/year to 0.12 mSv/year, which was significantly lower than the threshold value (1 mSv/year). The analyzed drinking water samples, water packaged in containers, and the samples produced in the region were in compliance with sanitary and epidemiological requirements, including those for 90Sr and 137Cs radionuclide contents. CONCLUSION: Radiation monitoring in the VR revealed that the content of technogenic radionuclides (137Cs and 90Sr) and other standardized parameters of radiation safety in water of open reservoirs and drinking water did not exceed the threshold values.