Levels of iodine and other elements in drinking water across rural counties adjoining a former uranium mining and milling works, through short-time activation analysis

In this study, drinking waters from the Urgeiriça region (Centre-North of Portugal) were collected for (potential) health concerns over their (actual) iodine contents. After freeze-drying 1 L of each water, neutron activation analysis (NAA) with both thermal and epithermal neutrons was applied, the latter to ease the determination of iodine. Levels of iodine were found to be low and not likely associated to a higher risk of thyroid cancers in the area. However, other chemical elements in the sampled waters could pose some threats from the point of view of human health: aluminium and bromine. Some samples contained arsenic and/or uranium, yet the levels of these two elements were below the regulated values. NAA demonstrated to be very adequate for analysis of iodine and other elements, via short-lived nuclides.