Gross alpha and beta measurements in drinkable water from seven major geographical regions of China and the associated cancer risks

In this study, human health risk derived from radioactive pollution in drinking water of China was assessed based on gross alpha and beta. Considering the presence of numerous data under the detection limits, the left-censored handling methods were employed to deal with the non-detected values in gross alpha and beta radioactive concentrations. Results show that concentrations of gross alpha and beta range from 4.98 × 10−4 Bq/L to 0.49 Bq/L with a mean value of 0.029 Bq/L and 5.00 × 10−3 Bq/L to 1.26 Bq/L with a mean value of 0.091 Bq/L, respectively. With the average effective dose being 1.41 × 10−2 mSv/y, the annual cancer risk due to radioactive pollution in Chinese drinking water is 7.75 × 10−7 /y. This study aimed to provide an easier method to quantify the radioactive pollution in drinking water and give a scientific basis for making policy decisions on radioactive pollution management.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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