EUROPEAN COMMISSION Estonian Transition Facility 2006 2006/18111.05.01.0005 Twinning Light Contract No. EE06-IB-TWP-ESC-03 ESTIMATION OF CONCENTRATIONS OF RADIONUCLIDES IN ESTONIAN GROUND WATERS AND RELATED HEALTH RISKS M. Forte R. Rusconi F. Trotti E. Caldognetto R. Airoldi F. Realini S. Risica L. Bagnato February 2010 The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission 2 1. FOREWORD....................................................................................................... 5 2. RADIOACTIVITY IN GROUND WATERS......................................................... 10 2.1. Origins of water radioactivity................................................................... 10 2.2. Behaviour of radium in ground water systems........................................ 11 2.3. Occurrence of radium in groundwater .................................................... 13 2.4. The radioactivity in Estonian aquifers..................................................... 15 3. AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON ESTONIAN AQUEDUCTS AND WATERS... 18 3.1. Analysis of available information - Water Supply Zones......................... 18 3.2. Analysis of available information - Radiometric data .............................. 19 3.3. Occurrence of high radioactivity values in Cambrian-Vendian aquifers.. 22 3.4. Occurrence of high radioactivity values in Estonian counties................. 25 4. REGULATIONS AND RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................................... 30 4.1. The Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption.............................................................................................. 30 4.2. Total indicative dose (TID)...................................................................... 33 4.3. Total indicative doses for Estonian drinking water.................................. 35 4.4. Radiological risk for Estonian drinking water.......................................... 40 4.5. Radiological protection conclusions........................................................ 42 Addendum 4.1 - Calculation of the derived reference levels for drinking water .... 44 Addendum 4.2 - ICRP and the limitation of natural radioactivity........................... 49 Addendum 4.3 - Comparison of the European Directive with WHO and EPA regulations for drinking water................................................................................ 52 Addendum 4.4 - The Commission Recommendation of 20 December 2001 on the protection of the public against exposure to radon in drinking water supplies ...... 59 Addendum 4.5 - Uranium in drinking water and its limitation ................................ 62 5. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ANALYTICAL PARAMETERS........................... 65 5.1. Purposes ................................................................................................ 65 5.2. Radium vs. chemical parameters ........................................................... 65 5.3. 226 Ra vs. 228 Ra........................................................................................ 69 5.4. Final considerations................................................................................ 73 6. CHOICE OF RELEVANT PARAMETERS AND ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES. 75 6.1. Gross alpha and beta activities............................................................... 75 6.2. Radium isotopes analysis....................................................................... 77 6.3. Other radiometric parameters................................................................. 80 3 7. SAMPLING PLAN ............................................................................................. 82 8. REMEDIAL ACTIONS..................................................................................... 105 8.1. The need of radium removal in Estonian water.................................... 105 8.2. Removal efficiency for existing Estonian treatment plants ................... 107 8.3. Summary of the information about removal techniques ....................... 110 8.4. Radium removal techniques: provisional cost evaluation ..................... 114 8.5. Radium removal techniques: technical features of available methods . 116 9. EFFLUENTS AND RESIDUES FROM EXISTING TREATMENT PLANTS .... 131 9.1. Effluents and residues production data ................................................ 131 9.2. Clearance levels and discharge limits .................................................. 134 9.3. Comparison of effluents and residues radioactivity content with international standards........................................................................................ 136 9.4. Literature data review........................................................................... 139 Addendum 9.1- Description of reference documents for residues clearance levels and effluents discharge limits setting .................................................................. 140 Addendum 9.2 - Literature data review............................................................... 147 10. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................ 150 11. AUTHORS’ REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................... 156 12. REFERENCES.............................................................................................. 158 4 1. FOREWORD The Twinning project In the first eight months of 2009 a Twinning Light Project has been carried out on the topic of “ Estimation of concentrations of radionuclides in Estonian ground waters and related health risks ”. Cooperation between Estonia and Italy has been established within the framework of Estonian Transition Facility 2006 sponsored by the European Union. The not negligible amount of natural radionuclides, especially radium isotopes, contained in some ground waters in Estonia is due to geological reasons. The overall objective of the project was a deeper knowledge of the situation and the identification of proper strategies for the minimization of health risks. The Italian team included: four experts of Regional Environment Protection Agencies (ARPA Lombardia and ARPA Veneto) in charge of data analysis, measure methods and sampling plans, two experts of water treatment plants and one expert of health effects of radiations (from the National Institute of Health in Rome) in charge of radioprotection studies and health evaluations. The project has been carried out in tight cooperation with Estonian Health Protection Inspectorate (HPI). Other relevant institutions responsible for risk assessment and environmental control (as Geological Survey and Radiation Protection Centre), research centres (as Tallinn University and Tartu Polytechnic) and private stakeholders (as waterworks societies) were also involved. The background The project results are addressed to the full implementation of the requirements under the following EU Directives: - Directive 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration; 5 - Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy; - Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption. The “Requirements for the quality and control of drinking water and analysis methods” are defined by contents in the Decree of the Minister of Social Affairs No. 82 from 31.07.2001. This was amended with the Decree of the Minister of Social Affairs No. 94 from 28.06.2002. Concentrations of radionuclides were analysed and reported by laboratories in Estonia and abroad in the frames of different studies. Radiometric data are available only as reports, compiled by OÜ Geoloogiakeskus (the Geological Survey of Estonia LLC) and they show that the calculated total indicative doses (T.I.D.) of radionuclides in Cambrian-Vendian water bearing complex often exceeded the indicator value of 0.1 mSv/year. Such waters are widely used in Northern Estonia. Moreover in 1994-1998 with the purpose of finding the most appropriate methods for decreasing indicative dose levels in water, EC initiated project “TENAWA” (Treatment Techniques for Removing Natural Radio-nuclides from Drinking Water) including experts from Finland, Austria, Germany and Sweden. Development of the project In the first phase of the project, a preliminary analysis of Estonian radiological database, mainly by geographic criteria, was accomplished in order to evaluate its representativeness. A screening on available technologies for radium removal from water resources was performed too, followed by a brief discussion of problems related to the management of wastes generated from treatment plants. Analytical methods for the measurement of gross alpha/beta activity, radium-226 and radium- 228, currently used by ARPA Lombardia, were also given. Results of the first phase (Component 1) were summarized in the Technical Report 1, issued in April 2009. In the second phase of the project (Component 2) a deeper analysis of data was performed. This allowed getting a clearer picture of the exposure of the population, 6 to define the most useful analytical parameters and to gather key information for an effective planning of a future representative monitoring. Possible health consequences were assessed taking into account the different age classes. Remedial actions were proposed and a first evaluation of their economic