Radionuclide and chemical concentrations in mineral waters at Saratoga Springs, New York

A project to characterize the radionuclide and chemical components in natural spring waters in the vicinity of Saratoga Springs, New York (USA) has been completed. As a result of the measured radionuclide and chemical content, eight springs were labeled as mineral waters, whereas three springs contained very low concentrations of these components. The mineral waters were highly enriched in alkaline and alkaline-earth elements, as well as chloride ions. Three isotopes of radium (224Ra, 226Ra, 228Ra) were detected in the mineral waters and reached concentrations of 1, 20, and 2 Bq/L, respectively. Overall, the 226Ra isotope constituted about 80% of the total radioactivity measured in the water samples. Dissolved uranium concentrations in the mineral waters were very low (mean ∼50 mBq/L).