Bilan de la qualité radiologique des eaux du robinet 2008-2009.

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the French Ministry of Health (DGS) and the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) presented the results of the radiological quality of drinking water in France. This work is based on the results of the official controls of drinking water quality. The results show that monitoring of radiological drinking water quality is operational all over France, and the radiological drinking water quality is satisfactory. The drinking water complied with the guidelines for the Total Indicative Dose (TID) for 99,8% of the French population. Uranium was measured by the IRSN in 360 water samples with gross alpha activity higher than 0,1 Bq.L-1. For 3,1% of them, the uranium concentration was higher than 30 μg.L-1, which is the OMS guideline for toxicological assessment. A historical survey, produced by the IRSN, on 222-radon in sources designed for the production of drinking water, showed that only 4% of the measurements were above 1000 Bq.L-1. The European Commission recommends that for concentrations in excess of 1 000 Bq.L-1, remedial action should be implemented on radiological protection grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]