Issues of establishing the permissible discharge levels of <sup>238</sup>U to surface waters taking into account its radiation and toxic effects

At present, discharges of 238U to surface waters by nuclear industry enterprises are limited by radiation factor. Registration and control of 238U discharges to water bodies is performed in units of radioactivity (Bq/year) according to the current permit for the water discharge of radioactive substances. At the same time, uranium belongs to the 1st hazard class by its chemical toxicity (extremely dangerous chemicals), it has hygienic standard for content in surface waters. A comparison was made for the limitation of 238U intake to surface waters, taking into account radiation exposure and chemical toxicity. Activity concentration of 238U in water was calculated, at which the annual dose for a critical population group from water use would be 0,1 mSv/year (scenario 1 – the water object is used for drinking water supply) or 1 mSv/year (scenario 2 – the water object is not used for drinking water supply). The calculated activity concentrations were expressed in units of mass concentrations and compared with the maximum permissible concentration of uranium in water, established in Russia, 15 mkg/L. It is shown that compliance with the radiation safety norms does not automatically guarantee compliance with the current hygienic standards for limiting the toxic effects of uranium on population and the environment. The concentration of 238U in water producing the annual dose to population 0,1 mSv taking into account all exposure pathways, exceeds the maximum permissible concentration of uranium in water by 15 times. If water body is not used for drinking water supply, the calculated concentration of 238U in water producing the annual dose to population 1 mSv, is higher than the maximum permissible concentration of uranium in water by 1500 times. The restrictions imposed by the current hygienic standards for the chemical toxicity of uranium could reduce the permissible discharge levels of 238U to surface waters. It is necessary to develop environmental quality standards for 238U, taking into account its chemical toxicity, and include them to the system of establishment of permissible discharge limits of radioactive substances.

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The using of ion exchange method of Urban Territories’ sub-surface waters purification in Sakha (Yakutia)

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201817004003 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 170 ◽

pp. 04003 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Svetlana Fedorova ◽

Anatolii Kryzhanovsky

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Ion Exchange ◽

Water Supply ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Drinking Water Supply ◽

Exchange Method ◽

Artesian Basin ◽

Drinking Purposes ◽

Urban Territories ◽

Ion Exchange Method

The urgency of the conducted studies is dictated by the problem of Urban Territories’ sub-surface waters purification providing in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) population with drinking water, which can be partly solved by involving the sub-surface waters of the Yakutian artesian basin in the domestic and drinking water supply systems. The chemical composition feature of the under-ground waters under consideration, which substantially complicates their widespread use for domestic and drinking purposes, is the increased content of lithium, fluorine and sodium. The main research objective is to develop an effective method for clearing the sub-permafrost waters of the Yakutian artesian basin from lithium compounds, which can be used in water treatment systems for domestic and drinking purposes. As a result of the experimental studies on the sub-permafrost water purification of casting by the ion exchange method, its content reduced from 0.5 to 0.01 mg / l, which fully met the requirements for drinking water. On the basis of the results obtained, a comprehensive scheme for the sub-permafrost waters purification of the Yakutian artesian basin from lithium, fluorine and sodium was developed for the purpose of household and drinking water supply.

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IMPROVING CYANOBACTERIA AND CYANOTOXIN MONITORING IN SURFACE WATERS FOR DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

Journal of Water Security ◽

10.15544/jws.2017.005 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jing Li ◽

Linda Parkefelt ◽

Kenneth M Persson ◽

Heidi Pekar

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Drinking Water ◽

Water Treatment ◽

Water Supply ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Drinking Water Supply ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Management Tool ◽

Raw Water ◽

Water Treatment Plants

Cyanobacteria in fresh water can cause serious threats to drinking water supplies. Managing cyanobacterial blooms particularly at small drinking water treatment plants is challenging. Because large amount of cyanobacteria may cause clogging in the treatment process and various cyanotoxins are hard to remove, while they may cause severe health problems. There is lack of instructions of what cyanobacteria/toxin amount should trigger what kind of actions for drink-ing water management except for Microcystins. This demands a Cyanobacteria Management Tool (CMT) to help regula-tors/operators to improve cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin monitoring in surface waters for drinking water supply. This project proposes a CMT tool, including selecting proper indicators for quick cyanobacteria monitoring and verifying quick analysis methods for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin. This tool is suggested for raw water management regarding cyano-bacteria monitoring in lakes, especially in boreal forest climate. In addition, it applies to regions that apply international WHO standards for water management. In Swedish context, drinking water producers which use raw water from lakes that experience cyanobacterial blooms, need to create a monitoring routine for cyanobacteria/cyanotoxin and to monitor beyond such as Anatoxins, Cylindrospermopsins and Saxitoxins. Using the proposed CMT tool will increase water safety at surface water treatment plants substantially by introducing three alerting points for actions. CMT design for each local condition should integrate adaptive monitoring program.

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Securing Access to Drinking Water in North-Eastern Morocco: The Example of the Taourirt-Oujda Corridor

Water ◽

10.3390/w12040928 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 928

Author(s):

Halima Jounaid ◽

Taha Attou ◽

Toufik Remmal ◽

Aimad Bouaziz

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water Supply ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Groundwater Resources ◽

Drinking Water Supply ◽

Geographical Information ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

North Eastern ◽

Eastern Morocco

Taourit-Oujda corridor (T.O.C.) is a geological entity of north-eastern Morocco with a total area of 4000 Km2. The drinking water supply in this arid region still faces challenges that meet a growing demand for a shortage of fresh water. This shortage is mainly due to the scarcity and irregularity of the precipitations, the overexploitation of the water resources, and the decrease of the capacity of storage dams that are the main source of drinking water supply in this area. This work aims at estimating deficit (to 2040) for drinking water provided by Machraa Hammadi dam and proposing favourable drilling sites to strengthen drinking water supply through the identification of groundwater resources that can be used in quantity and quality. To do this, a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) covering geological, hydrogeological and hydro-chemical aspects using the Geographical Information System (GIS) was carried out. This study shows that T.O.C. aquifer is more productive in the south-west of it, in the centre near the El Aioun municipality and in the north-east at the town of Sidi Bouhouria. According to Moroccan standards, defining the quality norms of surface waters, waters destined for irrigation, and of surface waters used for the production of drinking water, the groundwater in the center and north-east areas is also with good to medium overall quality groundwater.

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