Radium-226 in water

Gross alpha and gross beta activity can be determined by various radioactive counters, such as internal proportional, alpha scintillation, and Geiger counters. Radium in water can be measured by co-precipitating with barium sulfate followed by counting alpha particles. Radium-226 can be measured from alpha counting of radon-222. Various methods are well documented (APHA, AWWA, and WEF 1998. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20 ed. Washington DC American Public Health Association). 

Radium in water may be readily adsorbed by sediments, soils, and aquifer components. It has been experimentally demonstrated that radium can be adsorbed by soils and sediments (Benes and Strejc 1986 Landa and Reid 1982), ferric hydroxide and quartz (Benes et al. 1984 Valentine et al. 1987), kaolinite and montmorillonite (Benes et al. 1985), and muscovite and albite (Benes et al. 1986). 

Radium in water exists as a stable divalent ion it probably does not hydrolyze nor is it significantly influenced by oxidation-reduction reactions (Ames and Rai 1978). The solubility of radium salts is increased with increasing pH levels. 

Physical and Chemical Properties. Although some of the physical and chemical properties of radium and radium compounds have not been determined, many of those that are needed to evaluate its behavior in the environment are known. The adsorption-desorption behavior of radium with geologic materials depends on the specific system under study and should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Also, thermodynamic and kinetic data for solid solution formation are scarce. Research in this area would facilitate modeling the fate of radium in water. 

APHA. 1985a. Radium in water by precipitation method 705. In Greenberg AE, Trussell RR, Clesceri LS, eds. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 16th ed. Washington DC American Public Health Association, 652-656. 

ASTM. 1988c. Standard test methods for radionuclides of radium in water - Method D 2460-70. 1988 annual book of ASTM standards, Vol. 11.02 Water and Environmental Technology. Philadelphia, PA American Society for Testing and Materials, 660-662. 

Higuchi, H., M. Uesugi, K. Satoh, and N. Ohashi, 1984. Determination of radium in water by liquid scintillation counting after preconcentration with ion exchange resin. Anal. Chem. 56 761-763. 

D19.04 D2460-97 Standard Test Method for Alpha-Particle-Emitting Isotopes of Radium in Water... 

After an Internet search regarding the nature of radium and radon, suggest why areas in which there is radon infiltration into dwellings may also have problems with radium in water supplies. 

Ra.don Sepa.ra.tion, Owing to its short half-life, radon is normally prepared close to the point of use in laboratory-scale apparatus. Radium salts are dissolved in water and the evolved gases periodically collected. The gas that contains radon, hydrogen, and oxygen is cooled to condense the radon, and the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen are pumped away. 

Benes P (1990) Radium in (continental) surface water. In The environmental behavior of radium. Vol. 1. Inti Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, p373-418... 

Kraemer T, Reid D (1984) The occurrence and behavior of radium in saline formation water of the US gulf coast region. Isot Geosci 2 153-174... 

Lithium, sodium, beryllium, magnesium, calcium, and radium are all made industrially by the electrolysis of their molten chlorides. These salts are all soluble in water, but aqueous solutions are not used for the electrolytic process. Explain why. 

Figure 8. Specific activity of Radium in ordinary plants and algae (solid line) compared to Characeae algae (dotted line), showing roughly a linear relationship with the Radium activity concentration in the water.

The initial exploration and subsequent drilling in the Windsor area was sparked by the discovery of radon anomalies in the soil gas and well waters in the area (Quarch et al. 1981 Fig. 2). In addition, uranium and radium in well waters were weakly anomalous in the area. It is therefore not difficult to infer that these geochemical techniques are useful exploration tools for deposits of this type and that there are environmental Issues related to uranium occurrences in the Horton Group. 

Other sources include building materials such as concrete that are made from the earth s crustal materials and hence can contain significant amounts of uranium and radium (Nazaroff and Nero, 1988). Radon dissolves in water, and hence degassing from household water can also be a source. For example, Osborne (1987) reported that the radon concentration in a bathroom increased by more than two orders of magnitude during a 15-min period that a shower was running. 

In many of its chemical properties, radium is like the elements magnesium, caldum, strontium and barium, and it is placed in group 2, as is consistent with its 6s26pcls2 electron configuraUon. Its sulfate (Ksp — 4.2 a 10-1 ) is even more insoluble in water than barium sulfate, with which it is conveniently coprecipitated, Like barium and other alkaline earth metals, it forms a soluble chloride (X p = 0,4) and bromide, which can also be obtained as dihydrates, Radium also resembles the other group 2 elements in forming an insoluble carbonate and a very slightly soluble lodate (Xsp = 8.8 x 1(T10). 

The uranium series contains two radionuclides of special interest, 226Ra (ti/2 = 1600 y) and its daughter, 38 d 222Rn. 226Ra (and its daughters) are responsible for a major fraction of the radiation dose received from internal radioactivity. Radium is present in rocks and soils, and as a consequence in water, food, and human tissue. The high specific activity and gaseous decay products of radium also make it difficult to handle in the laboratory. 

The significance of radioactivity in water, food, and air has been under particular scrutiny since the advent of nuclear bomb tests and their accompanying radioactive fallout. This scrutiny has resulted in much documented data gathered over the past few decades on the health characteristics of man under various environmental conditions, such as the Denver populace who are subjected to more intense cosmic ray irradiations than the New York City populace the radium dial workers of the 1920,s who have provided data on life spans, general health, and causes of death population s drinking water with varying radium contents persons living... 

Radium is a naturally-occurring silvery white radioactive metal that can exist in several forms called isotopes. It is formed when uranium and thorium (two other natural radioactive substances) decay (break down) in the environment. Radium has been found at very low levels in soil, water, rocks, coal, plants, and food. For example, a typical amount might be one picogram of radium per gram of soil or rock. This would be about one part of radium in one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) parts of soil or rock. These levels are not expected to change with time. 

If radium is swallowed in water or with food, most of it (about 80%) will promptly leave the body in the feces. The other 20% will enter the blood stream and be carried to all parts of the body, especially the bones. Some of this radium will then be excreted in the feces and urine on a daily basis. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the amount of radium in drinking water so that it will not contain more than 5 pCi of combined radium-226 and radium-228 per liter of water. The amount of radioactivity from all sources that is allowed in drinking water and the amount that workers may be exposed to in nuclear plants is regulated. 

Measurements of body radium acquired by adult and teenage males solely from natural levels of radium in food and water indicated that approximately twice the amount of ingested radium was retained by younger males from one location, Lockport, Illinois (mean age 16.6 years) than by older males in a penitentiary in Stateville, Illinois (means of age groups 27, 38 and 44 years) (Stehney and Lucas 1955). Among the prisoners, mean body radium content was increased with the mean... 

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