Evaluation of tritium, gross alpha and gross beta radioactivity levels in tap and bottled drinking water in Singapore

Abstract

With the aim of assessing the radiological impact on public health from water consumption, tritium and gross α-β radioactivity levels were determined in tap and bottled drinking water consumed in Singapore using ultra-low level liquid scintillation counting. Tritium and gross α activities were < MDA values, while gross β activity levels varied between 0.228 and 0.258 Bq/L in tap water samples. For bottled drinking water, the activity concentrations of tritium, gross α and gross β ranged from < MDA–1.59 Bq/L, < MDA–0.437 Bq/L and < MDA–1.33 Bq/L respectively. The annual total effective doses were also estimated for both children and adults due to intake of radionuclides from consumption of tap and bottled water. Our results showed that consumption of tap and bottled water presents insignificant radiological risk to the Singapore population.