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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

RADIOSTRONTIUM AND RADIOCAESIUM IN DRINKING WATER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, RESULTS TO DECEMBER 1960

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4842680

The measurement of radiostrontium and radiocesium in a number of drinking water supplies in the United Kingdom was continued. The mean Sr/sup 90/ content of supplies derived from reservoirs and lakes reached a maximum of 1.2 picocuries per liter in the third quarter of 1959, and then decreased but more slowly than the concentration in rain. The corresponding figure for supplies from rivers was 0.6 picocunies per liter in the second quarter of 1959. Amounts of Cs/sup 137/ were lower than those of Sr/sup 90/ and varied considerably from one supply to another. As before very little activity was found in well waters. Results suggest that heavy rain may wash out previously deposited Sr/sup 90/ from soil and that sand filtration has little effect on the amount of the two radionuclides in water. (auth)

Research Organization:
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Research Group. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Berks, England
NSA Number:
NSA-15-029534
OSTI ID:
4842680
Report Number(s):
AERE-R-3552
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English