Ke. Holbert et al., MEASUREMENT OF RADIOACTIVITY IN ARIZONA GROUNDWATER USING IMPROVED ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR SAMPLES WITH HIGH DISSOLVED SOLIDS, Health physics, 68(2), 1995, pp. 185-194
Radiochemical analyses of 667 samples collected over the 5-y period 19
89 to 1993 indicate that approximately 2% of Arizona drinking water su
pplies from groundwater sources violate current regulatory standards.
About 1% of the population is affected. The 1996 change in regulatory
requirements will bring some Arizona water systems into compliance thr
ough Ra-226 limit relaxation, while others will become noncompliant du
e to new limits on uranium levels. Maximum concentrations in Arizona o
f adjusted gross alpha, gross beta, and Ra-226 activities are higher t
han levels found in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's nationa
l survey. Sampling results show a correlation between radionuclide con
centration and localized geology. Improved radiochemical methods are d
escribed that result in greater accuracy and sensitivity for samples h
igh in dissolved solids, as are typical in Arizona.