Radium-226 concentration in spring water sampled in high radon regions

Water (226)Ra concentration in springs was measured in regions with high indoor radon: Ural, North Caucasus (Russia), Niska Banja (Serbia), Piestany (Slovakia), and Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan). This paper presents the results for (226)Ra concentration above 0.03 Bq l(-1). Radium in water could indicate indoor radon problem in the region and water investigation is useful at the initial stage of radon survey. Even low (226)Ra concentration in water (0.1-0.6 Bq l(-1)) caused high (226)Ra activity in travertine (up to 1500 Bq kg(-1)), which resulted in indoor radon concentration above 2000 Bq m(-3) (Niska Banja). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.7th International Topical Meeting on Industrial Radiation and Radioisotope Measurement Application, Jun 22-27, 2008, Czech Tech univ, Prague, Czech Republi