Document Type : Original Article

Abstract

The supply of clean and abundant drinking water is one of the major problems in human societies that modern civilization faces today. Subsurface waters, especially waters of volcanic and rocky areas, can contain high amounts of natural radioisotopes. The presence of these radionuclides in food and water can cause deadly diseases such as cancer and so on. The purpose of this article is to investigate the natural activity of drinking water springs and hot water springs in Sablan region, to identify and measure the possible amount of radioactive substances in mineral and drinking water and to compare it with international standards. Due to the fact that this mountain is a volcano, it was naturally expected that the activity in its waters would be higher than in areas with sedimentary texture. According to the results, the highest measured activity is related to the water of Jalde-Bakhan village with an activity of 40 Bq/kg and the lowest activity is related to the mineral water of Ardha village with an activity of 4.66 Bq/kg. The obtained results are comparable with international standards and surveys in different countries.