Radioactivity measurement in drinking water
Under the European Union (Radioactive Substances in Drinking Water) Regulations, 2016 (S.I. 160 of 2016) the EPA verifies that water intended for human consumption supplied by Irish Water (public supplies) and local authorities (private supplies) has radon concentrations less than 500 Bq/l, and that the indicative dose is less than 0.1 mSv. Since this dose cannot be measured directly, a screening strategy is used with levels of 0.1 and 1.0 Bq/l for gross alpha and gross beta activity, respectively. If these levels are exceeded, further analysis of that water supply is required.
Continuous monitoring of Irish drinking water supplies confirms that the radiological risk to people in Ireland from the consumption of drinking water is low, with few exceedances of the gross alpha/beta activity and radon parameters. There have been no instances where the annual dose exceeded 0.1 mSv requiring remediation of that supply. An ongoing monitoring programme of radioactivity in drinking water continues to be in place.
Separate legislation (European Union (Natural Mineral Waters, Spring Waters and Other Waters in Bottles or Containers) Regulations 2016 to 2025, S.I. No. 204/2025)) is in place for bottled drinking water and the EPA’s Radiation Monitoring Laboratory has been designated by the Department of Health as an “Official Laboratory” for the purposes of analysing radiation in bottled (excluding mineral water) water under S.I. 282 of 2016. The EPA, in conjunction with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE), monitors radioactivity in bottled water on an annual basis from each of the 14 bottled water plants in Ireland. Again, this monitoring programme shows that the radiological risk to people in Ireland from the consumption of bottled drinking water is low.
Results from our radiation in drinking water measurement programme are available to download below: