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http://dx.doi.org/10.9720/kseg.2016.1.71

Occurrence of Radionuclides in Groundwater of Korea According to the Geological Condition  

Yun, Sang Woong (Department of Geology, Kangwon National University)
Lee, Jin-Yong (Department of Geology, Kangwon National University)
Park, Yu-Chul (Department of Geophysics, Kangwon National University)
Publication Information
The Journal of Engineering Geology / v.26, no.1, 2016 , pp. 71-78 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of natural radionuclides in Korean groundwater. Groundwater radionuclide data for the period 2000-2011 were obtained from the National Institute of Environmental Research and published literature, classified into five groups according to host rock type, and used to construct detailed concentration maps. Radon, uranium, gross-α, and radium concentrations ranged from 0.4 to 64,688.0 pCi/L (mean: 4,907 pCi/L), 0 to 2,297 μg/L (mean: 27.5 μg/L), 0 to 312 pCi/L (mean: 3.9 pCi/L), and 0 to 17.4 pCi/L (mean: 0.2 pCi/L), respectively. Radon concentrations in 562 of a total 1,501 wells (i.e., 53.5%) exceeded 4,000 pCi/L, which is the acceptable contamination threshold established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Uranium, gross-α, and radium concentrations exceeded the respective thresholds of 30 μg/L, 15 pCi/L, and 5 pCi/L in 121 of 1,031 wells (11.9%), 34 of 978 wells (3.5%), and 4 of 89 wells (4.5%), respectively. The mean radionuclide concentration in groundwaters hosted by igneous and metamorphic rocks was higher than that in groundwaters hosted by other rock types, such as volcanics, carbonates, and other sedimentary rocks. The correlations between individual radionuclides were weak or insignificant.
Keywords
groundwater; radionuclides; one-way ANOVA; spatial distribution; correlation analysis;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 5  (Citation Analysis)
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