Radon, fluoride and 62 elements as determined by ICP-MS in 145 Norwegian hard rock groundwater samples

Hard rock groundwater (145) samples collected from private drinking water wells in the environs of Oslo and Bergen were analysed for their radon and fluoride contents. A further 62 elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For 59 elements, more than 50% of all concentration values were above the detection limit. Characteristic differences between the Oslo- and Bergen-dataset can be shown to be related to host rock lithology. Variation in element contents generally spans 2–6 orders of magnitude. Concentrations of several elements (e.g. Ba, F, Fe, Mn, Na, Rn) exceed current drinking water action levels in a significant number of cases. High levels of other parameters such as Be, Mo, Th and U, which could have an impact on health, were observed. There are no Norwegian action levels currently defined for these elements. The economic and toxicological impacts of these findings require urgent assessment.