Radiation is everywhere. In our bananas, in our brazil nuts, in our sun, almost like it's a normal and prevalent force of nature. So it won't come as a surprise to learn that water from the earth can also be radioactive.
Now, typically when one talks about radioactive water, they mean primarily water carrying particles that are radioactive. Water molecules (H2O) aren't normally radioactive unless activated (hit by a lot of radiation), in which case the worst isotope you'd see is tritium. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot you can do about tritium beyond not drinking any of that sweet, delicious water or water-based beverages (basically everything).
So, we'll talk more about radioactive particles in water. There are lots of potential contaminants in water, and radioactive things can fall into that category. In water supplies, most often the concern is radon. Radon is a byproduct of uranium decay, which occurs naturally (due to the presence of natural uranium depostis).
Additionally, if you're unfortunate enough to need water in an area that has had some sort of radioactive fallout, all of the particulates will be floating around in the water (as well as in the air, but y'know, assume it's settled and you're cool). Now, drinking radioactive particles isn't the best thing for your health, don't be lead astray by those hormesis acolytes.
So, what do you do? You filter the damn water. The best you can, get rid of as many radioactive tidbits as possible. How? Carbon filtering is typically easily accessible, this is what your BRITA (tm) filter uses. If you can't get to your local Wal-Mart for some activated charcol, or just really want to do it Les Stroud style, you'll want to look into making a soil filter, or solar distilling rig. Of course, there are better ways, such as reverse-osmosis and other fancy water cleaning systems. The more effective a method is of removing stuff from water, the less radiation you'll get.
This is great. So how much of a concentration would harm you? In places where the soil is rich in uranium, there is always going to be a trace amount of uranium. And will hormesis allow the people that do have higher amounts of radiation in their water be better suited to handle larger amounts later in life?
ReplyDeleteIf we're talking natural water from a lake, spring or river, you'd have a much larger risk from bacteria or viruses than from the radon content. If we're talking about taking a sip from a spent fuel pool with a bunch of leaking elements, we might have some problems.
DeleteAs for hormesis, I'm not sure. If that guy who injects himself with snake venom constantly is to be believed, then yeah, more radiation in your water means better resistance.
I wonder how much a household tap filter can actually prevent radionuclides from getting in the purified water. There's probably some specific design or element that would do better for certain contaminants (heavy vs light atoms, short vs long half life isotopes, etc.)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, the more targeted or fine-meshed a filter is, the less bad stuff will get through, making for a lower dose in your drink.
DeleteFirst of all, Bear Grylls.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, I think more research needs to be done into hormesis. Perhaps filtering water of radionuclides might be like filtering it of vitamins and minerals! The research suggests it's something to look into. I nominate you to perform the studies.
First off I do believe you need more research on that hormesis but yes filtering works the best.
ReplyDeletePS I drink liquid ammonia based drinks nbd.
My roommate has a gas mask with a charcoal carbon filter - I'm sure that would probably be effective at stopping radionuclides.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of tritium, do you consider the stockpiling of, or research concerning, tritium to be a proliferation risk?