Assessment of the public effective dose due to the 222Rn radioactivity in drinking water: results from the Calabria region, southern Italy

In this article authors report experimental results obtained for radon activity concentration measurements in drinking waters, coming from the Calabria region, southern Italy. The Rn-222 specific activity in the investigated samples, measured with the Durridge RAD7 + RAD H2O setup, was compared with that one derived from international guidelines (the European Directive 2013/51/Euratom) and Italian regulations (the Italian Legislative Decree 28/2016) and it was used, with the dose conversion factor for Rn-222, to estimate the annual effective dose, for the public of the investigated region, due to the ingestion of radon dissolved in water. Obtained results represent a main reference for the investigated area, and they are useful to determine the associated radiological health risks for the population.