Effective Dose of Radon 222 Bottled Water in Different Age Groups Humans: Bandar Abbas City, Iran

Radon 222 is a natural radioactive element with a half-life of 3.8 days. It is odorless and colorless as well as water-soluble. Consuming waters which contain high concentration of (222)Rn would increase the effective dose received by different age groups. It would also be followed by an increased prevalence of cancer. In this research, 72 samples of the most commonly used bottled water in Bandar Abbas were collected in 3 consecutive months, May, June and July of 2013. Concentration (222)Rn of was measured by radon-meter model RTM166-2. The effective dose received by the 4 age groups, male and female adults as well as children and infants was estimated using the equation proposed by UNSCEAR. The results revealed that the mean and range concentration of (222)Rn in bottled waters were 641±9 Bq/m(3) and 0-901 Bq/m(3), respectively. The mean concentration of (222)Rn in the well-known Marks followed this Zam Zam>Bishe>Koohrng>Dassani>Christal>Polour>Damavand>Sivan. Infants were observed to receive a higher effective dose than children. The highest and lowest effective dose received was found to belong to male adults and children, respectively.