Assessment of the Radiological Health Risk Due to the 226Ra Content in Drinking Water from the Calabria Region, Southern Italy

In this article, the authors report experimental results obtained for the assessment of the Ra-226 content in 80 drinking water samples from the Calabria region, Southern Italy. The activity concentration, measured with the Perkin Elmer Tricarb 4910 TR Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC) setup, was compared with the reference values reported in the Italian Legislative Decree 28/2016 in order to evaluate any possible radiological health hazards for the population in terms of Ra-226 content due to the ingestion of the investigated drinking water. The obtained results put in evidence that the average Ra-226 specific activity is lower than the LSC minimum detectable activity (MDA) in all cases, thus, excluding any radiological risk. They also represent the main reference for the investigated area and can be used as a baseline to extend this investigation to the whole region.