Radon radioactivity in groundwater from the Calabria region, south of Italy

In the present study the radon radioactivity in selected groundwater (boreholes and wells) from the Calabria region, south of Italy, was investigated. Water samples were analyzed by gamma spectrometry and by RAD7 + RAD H2O setup to determine the Rn-222 activity concentration. Obtained values were used with the ingested dose conversion factor for Rn-222 to estimate the annual effective dose for adult members of public due to consumption of the groundwater. The estimated average value was (88 +/- 5) mu Sv/y. It was compared with the estimated average annual effective dose due to ingestion of groundwater by the WHO (100 mu Sv/y) and that due to ingestion of food and water (290 mu Sv/y) by the UNSCEAR (2000). Results show that the presence of radon may not pose any radiological health hazard to the public due to the consumption of groundwater in the investigated region.