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Internal Dosimetry Assessment for Drinking the Groundwater of the Disi Aquifer

The quest for a better understanding of the cancer risk associated with drinking the radium-contaminated groundwater of the Disi Aquifer in Jordan has become more urgent in recent years. To quantitively identify the health consequences attainable from the consumption of this groundwater source, internal dosimetry analysis was performed with emphasis on doses deliverable to bone surfaces. Moreover, the age-dependent dose calculations performed in this study show that the most critical group is those who are below the age of 15, where we predict an increase in the risk of cancer by up to a factor of 5 as compared to adults. It is also demonstrated that radium radioactivity remains relatively constant in the bone even 10 years after ingestion. The whole-body dose analysis concluded that it is a factor of 5 higher than what the WHO recommends as a limit.