Gross Alpha/Beta Radioactivity of Drinking Water and Relationships with Quality Parameters of Water from Alba County, Romania

Drinking-water is considered one of the existing exposure situations to radiation, which involves a level of risk for human health. Thus, its radioactivity is evaluated to keep exposure “as low as reasonably achievable”. Based on monitoring data sets (2017–2023) for six physical-chemical indicators of drinking water quality and total radioactivity expressed by gross alpha activity, gross beta activity and Radon222 content, we evaluated the correlations, relationships, predictors (water source, locality, year), regional variations and potential baseline patterns using statistical analysis and models. The obtained model shows that drinking water sources and localities are factors with significant effect on nitrates concentration and total hardness, ranking sources in the order: well > spring > municipal distribution system; the rank order of drinking water sources based on the concentration of Radon-222 is spring > well > municipal distribution system; locality was found the best predictor for radioactivity; significant correlations were found between gross alpha and gross beta, between gross beta and Radon-222, and between ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and total hardness. The establishment of a baseline pattern for gross alpha activity is a public health goal that can be achieved through performance monitoring of natural radioactivity in water, useful for preparedness in case of a nuclear event