A Study of Activity Concentrations in Water Samples from Kurigram, Bangladesh

The radioactivity levels in 45 water samples collected from tube-wells, shallow pumps, ponds and the river from different places of Kurigram district in the northern region of Bangladesh have been determined. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides have been measured by using Gamma Spectrometry System. The observed activity concentration of 238U for all samples ranges from BDL to 41±6 Bq/l with the mean 8.9±3.6 Bq/l for tube-wells, 5.8±2.6 Bq/l for shallow pumps, 6.2±2.8 Bq/l for pond and 10±3 Bq/l for the river, activity concentration of 232Th ranges from BDL to 19±4 Bq/l with the mean 3.6±2.4 Bq/l for tube-wells, 1.3±0.5 Bq/L for shallow pumps, 1.8±0.67 Bq/l for ponds and BDL for the river. The activity concentration of 40K ranges from BDL to 104±23 Bq/l with the mean 52±22 Bq/l for tube-wells, 44±22 Bq/l for shallow pumps, 41±22 Bq/l for ponds and 62±23 Bq/l for the river. Artificial radionuclide 137Cs was not found in the water samples studied. It suggests that the radioactivity in drinking water for the people residing Kurigram is not yet a problem. This study has been undertaken to measure the radioactivity levels in water samples, as a part of environmental radioactivity-monitoring program for the assessment of radiation exposure to the population of Bangladesh.