Abstract:
The objectives of this research were to study the radium content and its correlation with hardness and chemical composition in groundwater supply for domestic use in Amphor Puvieng and Chumpare of Khon-kaen province and Amphor Banrai and Lansak of Uthaithani Province.
In this study, the specific activities of ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra in groundwater samples adsorbed in Mn-fiber were determined by gamma-spectroscopy technique. Their chemical contents were analyzed by titration technique and atomic-absorption technique. The results show that groundwater samples from Khon-kaen areas had the average specific activity values of ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra ranging from 0.020-1.410 pCi/L and 0.285-2.055 pCi/L, respectively. While, the average specific activities of ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra in groundwater collected from Uthaithani areas were in the range of 0.100-4.805 pCi/L and 0.045-32.365 pCi/L, respectively. One sample of groundwater taken from Lanask, Uthaithani had the highest specific activity values of ²²⁸Ra (32.365 pCi/L). In addition, the positive correlation was found between the specific activities level of radium and chloride element in groundwater samples taken from both provinces. The water hardness was not found to correlate with radium content in any water sample.