What is ISO 22908 about?
ISO 22908 discusses water quality. The presence of radioactive isotopes in potable water can pose health risks. ISO 22908 specifies the determination of radium-226 (226Ra) and radium-228 (228Ra) activity concentrations in drinking water samples by chemical separation of radium and its measurement using liquid scintillation counting.
Massic activity concentrations of 226Ra and 228Ra that can be measured with this test method utilizing currently available liquid scintillation counters go down to 0,01 Bq/kg for 226Ra and 0,06 Bq/kg for 228Ra for a 0,5 kg sample mass and a 1 h counting time in a low background liquid scintillation counter. The test method can be used for the fast detection of contamination of drinking water by radium in emergency situations.
Who is ISO 22908 for?
ISO 22908 on water quality is useful for:
- Neuclear facilities
- Government bodies
- Geological scientists
- Test laboratories
Why should you use ISO 22908?
Radon isotopes 222, 219 and 220 are radioactive gases produced by the disintegration of radium isotopes 226, 223 and 224, which are decay products of uranium-238, uranium-235 and thorium-232 respectively, and are all found in the earth's crust. Solid elements, also radioactive, followed by stable lead are produced by radon disintegration.
ISO 22017 has been developed to answer the need of test laboratories carrying out these measurements that are sometimes required by national authorities, as they may have to obtain a specific accreditation for radionuclide measurement in drinking water samples. ISO 22908 is one of a family of International Standards on test methods dealing with the measurement of the activity concentration of radionuclides in water samples.
The test methods described in ISO 22908 can be used during planned, existing, and emergency exposure situations as well as for wastewaters and liquid effluents with specific modifications that could increase the overall uncertainty, detection limit, and threshold. The test results will enable the plant/installation operator to verify that, before their discharge, wastewaters/liquid effluent radioactive activity concentrations do not exceed authorized limits.