GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED BOTTLED MINERAL WATERS, MINERAL AND THERAPEUTIC WATERS IN BELARUS

• Main Authors: Natalia Ushko, Nguyen Dinh Chau
• Format: Article
• Language: Polish
• Published: Polish Society of Ecological Engineering (PTIE) 2017-04-01
• Series: Inżynieria Ekologiczna
• Subjects: radioactive and stable isotopes; chemical composition; mineral; bottled; therapeutic waters; Belarus
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/ie/OGOLNE-CHARAKTERYSTYKI-WYBRNYCH-WOD-MINERALNYCH-BUTELKOWANYCH-MINERLNYCH-I-LECZNICZYCH-NA-BIALORUSI,68337,0,2.html
• ISSN: 2081-139X; 2392-0629

This work presents the physical properties, chemical composition, natural radionuclides’ concentrations and the relative values of δ¹⁸O, δ²H of selected bottled mineral, mineral and therapeutic waters of some water intakes localized at different therapeutic centers in Belarus. The water samples were collected in the period from January 2012 to June 2015 and analyzed at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection and Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science laboratories, AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków Poland. The results show that the dominating ions in the majority of waters are Cl-, SO₄^2-, Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ , the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the investigated waters ranges from several hundred mg/L to near 150 g/L, pH from 6.6 to 9.2 and Eh from -283 to 259 mV. The radium isotopes concentration ranges from below the limit of detection to 17 Bq/L, and the specific activity of ²²⁸Ra is often higher than those of 226Ra. The uranium concentration range from below 0.5 mBq/L to 75 mBq/L for ²³⁸U and to 300 mBq/L for 234U. In some waters the uranium activity ratio (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) is very high. The tritium concentrations are below 1.1 UT, δ¹⁸O range from -10.9‰ to -7.8‰ and δ²H from -84‰ to -59.4‰. These values indicate that groundwaters are dominated by components which were recharged during the Holocene. Due to the presence of specific elements such as iron, bromine and radon, as well as hydrogen sulfide, some mineral waters are classified as therapeutic.