C. Reimann et al., RADON, FLUORIDE AND 62 ELEMENTS AS DETERMINED BY ICP-MS IN 145 NORWEGIAN HARD-ROCK GROUNDWATER SAMPLES, Science of the total environment, 192(1), 1996, pp. 1-19
Hard rock groundwater (145) samples collected from private drinking wa
ter wells in the environs of Oslo and Bergen were analysed for their r
adon and fluoride contents. A further 62 elements were determined by i
nductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For 59 elements,
more than 50% of all concentration values were above the detection li
mit. Characteristic differences between the Oslo- and Bergen-dataset c
an be shown to be related to host rock lithology. Variation in element
contents generally spans 2-6 orders of magnitude. Concentrations of s
everal elements (e.g. Ba, F, Fe, Mn, Na, Rn) exceed current drinking w
ater action levels in a significant number of cases. High levels of ot
her parameters such as Be, Mo, Th and U, which could have an impact on
health, were observed. There are no Norwegian action levels currently
defined for these elements. The economic and toxicological impacts of
these findings require urgent assessment.