What is ISO 13161 about?
ISO 13161 discusses water quality. ISO 13161 is one of a family of International Standards on test methods dealing with the measurement of the activity concentration of radionuclides in water samples. ISO 13161 specifies a method for the measurement of 210Po in all types of waters by alpha spectrometry.
Polonium is a radioactive, silvery-grey or black metallic element of the oxygen group that is toxic to human beings even in small doses. The method for measuring polonium is applicable to test samples of supply/drinking water, rainwater, surface and groundwater, marine water, as well as cooling water, industrial water, domestic, and industrial wastewater. Filtration of the test sample can be required.
The detection limit depends on the sample volume, the instrument used, the counting time, the background count rate, the detection efficiency, and the chemical yield. The method described in ISO 13161, using currently available alpha spectrometry apparatus, has a detection limit of approximately 5 mBq l−1, which is lower than the WHO criteria for safe consumption of drinking water (100 mBq l−1). This value can be achieved with a counting time of 24 h for a sample volume of 500 ml. The method described in ISO 13161 is also applicable in an emergency situation.
Who is ISO 13161 for?
ISO 13161 on water quality is useful for:
- Government bodies
- Water supply and distribution networks
- Wastewater management facilities
- Nuclear facilities
- Geological scientists
- Test laboratories
Why should you use ISO 13161?
Radionuclide activity concentration in water bodies can vary according to local geological characteristics, and climatic conditions. This can be locally and temporally enhanced by releases from nuclear installation during planned, existing, and emergency exposure situations. Drinking water may thus contain radionuclides at activity concentrations which could present a risk to human health. If ingested, polonium is lethal in extremely small doses. Once polonium enters the bloodstream, its effects cannot be reversed.
Drinking water needs to be monitored for its radioactivity content as recommended by the World Health Organization. ISO 13161 has been developed to answer the need of test laboratories carrying out these measurements that are sometimes required by national authorities, as they may have to obtain a specific accreditation for radionuclide measurement in drinking water samples.
The test methods described in ISO 13161 can be used during planned, existing and emergency exposure situations as well as for wastewaters and liquid effluents with specific modifications that could increase the overall uncertainty, detection limit, and threshold. The test results could enable the plant/installation operator to verify that, before their discharge, wastewaters/liquid effluent radioactive activity concentrations do not exceed authorized limits.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN ISO 13161:2020 supersedes EN ISO 13161:2015.
The main changes compared to the previous version are as follows:
- Addition of a common introduction
- Addition of a new option for the chemical preparation using precipitation on a filter
