Natural Radiation and Radiation in Nature session: Disposal of Uranium from Drinking Water Filters

摘要

The recent EC Drinking Water Directive and Recommendations from the European Union, on uranium and other radionuclides in drinking water may lead to an increased use of various types of drinking water filters. Recent measurements on 700 samples from drinking water indicate a number of regions with increased uranium levels, such as around lake Siljan in mid-Sweden. The report is now in preparation and it can be assumed that these results may also lead to an increased interest in water filters. To ensure that filters can be disposed of, preliminary calculations have been made on a hypothetical future stream of spent filters to a municipal waste disposal site. It should be mentioned that, despite the recent concern for uranium, radon is still the main problem in connection with drinking water from a radiation protection point of view. The finding of the recent measurements to be published shortly (March 2008) shows that there is no clear correlation between occurrence of radon and uranium.