Journal of Preventive Medicine

Introduction: Radon 222 is a colorless and odorless natural radioactive element with high solubility in water with 3.825 days half-life. The presence of Radon 222 in drinking water can lead to lung or stomach cancers through inhalation or ingestion in the long term. Different age groups have different sensitivity to the risks of Radon 222. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effective dose of Radon 222 received by tap water in different age groups in Bandar Abbas city.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the concentration of Radon 222 of 8 regions of Bandar Abbas city in 48 samples of tap drinking water was measured by portable Radon meter RTM1688-2 in June 2015. The received effective dose by tap drinking water was also calculated in different age groups by UNSCEAR equation.

Results: The range and mean concentration of Radon 222 is 87.6-384 Bq/m³ and 234.4±70 Bq/m³, respectively. The mean of the received effective dose in the age groups of adult men, adult women and children and infants was 0.0024±0.0007, 0.0018±0.0005, 0.0007±0.0002 and 0.001±0.0003 mSv/y, respectively. The order of the received effective dose in different age groups was adult men>adult women>infants>children.

Conclusion: The effective received dose of all age groups particularly adults is less than the standard limit (0.1 mSv/y), therefore there is no need for treatment of water for removal of Radon 222 in the Bandar Abbas city.