Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption
Date: 2011-06-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: food consumption, health policy, radioactive materials, water pollution

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.6.2011 
COM(2011) 385 final 

2011/0170 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with 
regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption 

Draft presented under Article 31 Euratom Treaty for opinion of the European Economic and 
social Committee 

 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROPOSAL 

Water  is  one  of  the  most  comprehensively  regulated  areas  of  Community  environmental 
legislation.  Early  European  water  policy  began  in  the  1970s  with  the  adoption  of  political 
programmes as well as legally binding legislation. 

A first wave of legislation was adopted, starting with the 1975 Surface Water Directive1 and 
culminating  in  the  1980  Drinking  Water  Directive2.  Since  then  scientific  and  technological 
knowledge has improved and the approach to Community legislation has evolved. In 1988 the 
Frankfurt  ministerial  seminar  on  water  reviewed  the  existing  legislation  and  identified  a 
number  of  improvements  that  could  be  made.  This  resulted  in  a  second  phase  of  water 
legislation. 

Legislative results of this substantial restructuring of Community water policy and legislation 
were the Directive establishing a new framework for Community action in the field of water 
policy3, adopted by the European Parliament and Council in September 2000 and came into 
force  on  22  December  2000,  and  a  new  Drinking  Water  Directive,  reviewing  the  quality 
standards and, where necessary, tightening them. 

The 1980 Drinking Water Directive not only had to be adapted to the existing scientific and 
technical  progress,  but  also  to  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  by  reducing  the  number  of 
parameters that Member States were obliged to monitor and by focusing on compliance with 
essential quality and health parameters. 

The  process  leading  to  the  revision  started  in  1993  when  the  Commission  organized  a 
European Drinking Water Conference in Brussels to consult all stakeholders in the supply of 
drinking  water.  This  resulted,  in  1998,  in  the  adoption  and  entry  into  force  of  the  current 
Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human 
consumption. This new directive had to be transposed into national legislation by the end of 
the  year  2000,  and  had  to  be  complied  with  by  the  end  of  2003  with  some  exceptions  for 
critical parameters such as lead and disinfection by products. 

Only  a  very  small  percentage  of  drinking  water  systems  are  located  in  areas  that  have 
potential  sources  of  man-made  radioactive  contamination  from  facilities 
that  use, 
manufacture, or dispose of radioactive substances. Drinking water contamination may occur 
through  accidental  releases  of  radioactivity  or  through  improper  disposal  practices.  Water 
systems  that  are  vulnerable  to  this  type  of  contamination  are  required  to  perform  extensive 
monitoring for radioactive contamination to ensure that their drinking water is safe. Yet, there 
are many regions in Europe where the geological and hydrological features are such that the 
presence of naturally occurring radioactive substances is of concern. 

1 

2 

3 

Council  Directive  75/440/EEC  of  16  June  1975  concerning  the  quality  required  of  surface  water 
intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States 
Council  Directive  80/778/EEC  of  15  July  1980  relating  to  the  quality  of  water  intended  for  human 
consumption  
OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1–73  

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Under  Community  legislation,  technical  requirements  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  the 
general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption 
have been finalised for more than five years now, after a consultation process involving the 
Group of Experts provided for under Article 31 EURATOM, the Committee established under 
the  Drinking  Water  Directive  and  the  consultation  of  the  Committee  of  Member  State 
representatives  established  under  Articles  35-36  of  the  EURATOM  Treaty.  So  far  the 
requirements  for  monitoring  tritium  and  total  indicative  dose  under  Council  Directive 
98/83/EC  have  not  been  implemented,  pending  the  adoption  of  amendments  to  Annexes  II 
(monitoring) and III (specifications for the analysis of parameters). 

Indicator  parameters  set  out  in  Annex  I  Part  C  relating  to  radioactivity  and  tritium  and  the 
related monitoring provisions in Annex II to Directive 98/83/EC fall within the scope of the 
basic standards within the meaning of Article 30 of the EURATOM Treaty. 

As a result, it is justified to incorporate the requirements for monitoring levels of radioactivity 
in  a  specific  legislation  under  the  EURATOM  Treaty  in  order  to  maintain  the  uniformity, 
coherence and completeness of radiation protection legislation at Community level. 

Therefore  the  Commission  considers  it  appropriate  to  present  a  proposal  laying  down 
requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive 
substances in water intended for human consumption based on Article 31 of the EURATOM 
Treaty. 

According  to  the  EURATOM  Treaty  provisions,  the  Commission  is  required  to  consult  the 
Group of scientific experts referred to in Article 31 of the EURATOM Treaty when revising 
and  supplementing  the  basic  standards  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  workers  and  the 
general  public  against  the  dangers  arising  from  ionising  radiation.  Following  this  legal 
obligation, the opinion was already delivered in June 2008. 

Taking into account the implementation of the general principle in legal theory and practice 
that  establishes  that  a  law  governing  a  specific  subject  matter  overrides  a  law  which  only 
governs general matters ("lex specialis derogat legi generali"), the provisions of the Directive 
under  the  EURATOM  Treaty  supersede  those  of  the  Directive  98/83/EC  as  regards 
radioactive substances in drinking water. 

In  a  second  step,  the  Commission  will  propose  the  deletion  of  Tritium  and  Total  Indicative 
Dose from the list of indicator parameters in part C of Annex I to Directive 98/83/EC and the 
repeal all references to these parametric values. 

2. 

SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

• Legal basis 

The  provisions  of  this  Directive  are  related  to  the  basic  standards  for  the  protection  of  the 
health  of  workers  and  the  general  public.  Consequently,  the  legal  base  chosen  is  the  Treaty 
establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in  particular  Articles  31  and  32 
thereof. 

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• Subsidiarity principle 

The  subsidiarity  principle  applies  insofar  as  the  proposal  does  not  fall  under  the  exclusive 
competence of the Community. As the Community's legislative powers under Title II Chapter 
III of the EURATOM Treaty are exclusive in nature, they are not subject to the principle of 
subsidiarity. 

• Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason(s). 

The  proposal  sets  out  minimum  harmonised  standards  for  monitoring  tritium  and  total 
indicative dose and adapts the requirements of Directive 98/83/EC related to radioactivity to 
the latest scientific and technical progress. 

• Choice of instruments 

While the Community is responsible for establishing uniform rules in the radiation protection 
field in order to achieve a high level of health protection of workers and the general public, it 
falls  on  the  Member  States  to  transpose  into  their  national  legislation  such  rules  and  to 
implement them. 

A directive is therefore best suited to create a common approach on defining requirements for 
radioactivity parameters for monitoring the quality of water intended for human consumption 
in the light of scientific and technical progress. 

As  a  consequence,  harmonised  requirements  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  the  general 
public  with  regard  to  radioactive  substances  in  water  intended  for  human  consumption  are 
defined. 

3. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal has no implication for the Community budget. 

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2011/0170 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with 
regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in 
particular Articles 31 and 32 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission4 drawn up after obtaining the opinion of 
a  group  of  persons  appointed  by  the  Scientific  and  Technical  Committee  from  among 
scientific experts in the Member States, in accordance with Article 31 of the Treaty, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee5, 

After consulting the European Parliament6, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The  ingestion  of  water  is  one  of  the  pathways  of  incorporation  of  radioactive 
substances into the human body. In accordance with Council Directive 96/29/Euratom 
of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of 
workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation7, the 
contribution to the exposure of the population as a whole from practices which involve 
a risk from ionizing radiation must be kept as low as reasonably achievable. 

In view of the importance for human health of the quality of water intended for human 
consumption, it is necessary to lay down at Community level quality standards which 
have  an  indicator  function  and  provide  for  the  monitoring  of  the  compliance  with 
those standards. 

Indicator  parameters  have  already  been  set  out  in  Annex  I,  Part  C  relating  to 
radioactive  substances,  as  well  as  the  related  monitoring  provisions  in  Annex  II  to 
Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for 
human  consumption8.  However,  those  parameters  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  basic 
standards defined in Article 30 of the Euratom Treaty. 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

OJ C , , p.  
OJ C , , p.  
OJ C , , p.  
OJ L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1 
OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 32 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

The  requirements  for  monitoring levels  of  radioactivity  in  water  intended  for  human 
consumption  should  therefore  be  adopted  in  specific  legislation  that  ensures  the 
uniformity,  coherence  and  completeness  of  radiation  protection  legislation  under  the 
Euratom Treaty. 

The provisions of the present Directive adopted under the Euratom Treaty supersede 
those  of  the  Directive  98/83/EC  as  regards  the  contamination  of  drinking  water  by 
radioactive substances. 

In  the  event  of  non-compliance  with  a  parameter  that  has  an  indicator  function,  the 
Member State concerned should assess whether that non-compliance poses any risk to 
human health and, where necessary, take remedial action to restore the quality of the 
water. 

Consumers  should  be  adequately  and  appropriately  informed  of  the  quality  of  water 
intended for human consumption. 

It is necessary to exclude from the scope of this Directive natural mineral waters and 
waters which are medicinal products, since special rules for those types of water have 
been  established  in  Directive  2009/54/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 18 June 2009 on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters9 
and  Directive  2001/83/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  6 
November  2001  on  the  Community  code  relating  to  medicinal  products  for  human 
use10. 

(9) 

Each  Member  State  should  establish  monitoring  programmes  to  check  that  water 
intended for human consumption meets the requirements of this Directive. 

(10)  The  methods  used  to  analyse  the  quality  of  water  intended  for  human  consumption 
should be such as to ensure that the results obtained are reliable and comparable. 

(11)  Commission  Recommendation  2001/928/Euratom  of  20  December  2001  on  the 
protection  of  the  public  against  exposure  to  radon  in  drinking  water  supplies11  deals 
with the radiological quality of drinking water supplies regarding radon and long-lived 
radon decay products, and thus these radionuclides should not be included in the scope 
of this Directive. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article1 
Subject matter  

This Directive lays down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public 
with  regard  to  radioactive  substances  in  water  intended  for  human  consumption.  It  sets  out 
parametric values, frequencies and methods for monitoring radioactive substances. 

9 
10 
11 

OJ L 164, 26.6.2009, p. 45 
OJ L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 67 
OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p.85 

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Article 2 
Definitions  

For  the  purposes  of  this  Directive,  definitions  laid  down  in  Article  2  of  Council  Directive 
98/83/EC shall apply. 

Article 3 
Scope 

This Directive shall apply to water intended for human consumption with the exemptions set 
out  in  Article  3(1)  of  Directive  98/83/EC  and  laid  down  in  accordance  with  Article  3(2)  of 
that Directive.  

Article 4 
General obligations  

Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  laid  down  in  Article  6(3)a  of  Directive  96/29/Euratom, 
Member  States  shall  take  all  measures  necessary  to  establish  an  appropriate  monitoring 
programme  to  ensure  that  water  intended  for  human  consumption  complies  with  the 
parametric values established in accordance with the present Directive. 

Article 5 
Parametric values 

Member  States  shall  set  parametric  values  applicable  for  the  monitoring  of  radioactive 
substances in water intended for human consumption in accordance with Annex I. 

Article 6 
Monitoring  

Member States shall ensure regular monitoring of water intended for human consumption in 
accordance with Annex II in order to check that the concentrations of radioactive substances 
do not exceed the parametric values laid down in accordance with Article 5. 

Article 7 
Sampling locations  

In  the  case  of  a  distribution  network,  a  Member  State  may  take  samples  within  the  supply 
zone  or  at  the  treatment  works  if  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  such  sampling  gives  the  same 
measured value of the parameters concerned.  

Article 8 
Sampling and analysis  

1. Samples representative of the quality of the water consumed throughout the year shall be 
taken and analysed in accordance with the methods set out in Annex III.  

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2.  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  all  laboratories  analysing  samples  of  water  intended  for 
human  consumption  have  a  system  of  analytical  quality  control.  They  shall  ensure  that  that 
system  is  subject  to  occasional  checks  by  an  independent  controller  approved  by  the 
competent authority for that purpose. 

Article 9  
Remedial action and notification of consumers  

1. Member States shall ensure that any failure to comply with the parametric values laid down 
in accordance with Article 5 is immediately investigated in order to identify its cause. 

2. Where a failure to comply with the parametric values laid down in accordance with Article 
5 occurs, the Member State shall assess whether the failure poses a risk to human health. In 
the event that there is such a risk, the Member State shall take remedial action to restore the 
quality of the water. 

3. Where the risk to human health cannot be regarded as trivial, the Member State shall ensure 
that consumers are notified. 

Article 10 
Transposition into national law 

1.  Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
necessary to comply with this Directive by one year after the date referred to in Article 11 at 
the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions 
and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive. 

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this directive or 
be  accompanied  by  such  a  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their  official  publication.  Member 
States shall determine how such reference is to be made. 

2. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

Article 11 
Entry into force 

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

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Article 12 
Addressees 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, [...]  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX I 
Parametric values for tritium and parametric values for Total Indicative Dose, for other 
radioactive substances, in water intended for human consumption 

Radioactivity 

Parameter 

Parametric value 

Tritium 

100 

Unit 

Bq/l 

Notes 

Total indicative dose 

0,10 

mSv/year 

(Note 1) 

Note 1: Excluding tritium, potassium -40, radon and radon decay products 

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ANNEX II 
Monitoring of radioactive substances 

1. General principles and monitoring frequencies 

A  Member  State  is  not  required  to  monitor  drinking  water  for  tritium  or  radioactivity  to 
establish  total  indicative  dose  where  it  is  satisfied  on  the  basis  of  other  monitoring  that  the 
levels of tritium of the calculated total indicative dose are well below the parametric value. In 
that case, it shall communicate the grounds for its decision to the Commission, including the 
results of the other monitoring carried out. 

2. Tritium 

Monitoring  of  drinking  water  for  tritium  shall  be  carried  out  where  a  source  of  tritium  is 
present  within  the  catchment  and  it  cannot  be  shown  on  the  basis  of  other  surveillance 
programmes  or  investigations  that  the  level  of  tritium  is  well  below  its  parametric  indicator 
value 100 Bq/l. Where monitoring for tritium is required, it shall be carried out at the audit 
frequency. 

3. Total Indicative Dose 

Monitoring  of  drinking  water  for  Total  Indicative  Dose  (TID)  shall  be  carried  out  where  a 
source  of  artificial  or  enhanced  natural  radioactivity  is  present  within  the  catchment  and  it 
cannot be shown on basis of other surveillance programmes or investigations that the level of 
TID is well below its parametric indicator value 0.1 mSv/year. Where monitoring for artificial 
radionuclide levels is required, it shall be carried out at the audit frequency indicated in the 
table.  Where  monitoring  for  natural  radionuclide  levels  is  required,  Member  States  shall 
define the frequency of the monitoring having regard to all relevant information available on 
temporal variations of natural radionuclide levels in different types of waters. Depending on 
the expected variations, monitoring frequency may vary from a single check measurement to 
the audit frequency. Where only a single check for natural radioactivity is required, a re-check 
shall be required at least where any change occurs in relation to the supply likely to influence 
the concentrations of radionuclides in the drinking water.  

Where methods for removing radionuclides from drinking water have been applied in order to 
ensure  that  a  parametric  value  is  not  exceeded,  monitoring  shall  be  carried  out  at  the  audit 
frequency. 

Where  results  of  other  surveillance  programmes  or  investigations  than  those  required  as 
provided in the first paragraph of this point are used to ensure compliance with this Directive, 
the  Member  State  shall  communicate  the  grounds  for  its  decision  to  the  Commission, 
including the relevant results of these monitoring programmes or investigations. 

4. The audit frequency of monitoring shall be as set out in the following table:  

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TABLE 
Audit frequency of monitoring for water intended for human consumption supplied from a 
distribution network  

Volume of water distributed 
or produced each day within 
a supply zone 

Number of samples 

per year 

(Notes 3 ) 

(Notes 1 and 2) 

m³ 

> 100 ≤ 1 000 

> 1 000 ≤ 10 000 

≤ 100

(Note 4) 

1 

1 

+ 1 for each 3 300 m³/d and 
part 

thereof of the total volume 

> 10 000 ≤ 100 000 

3 

+ 1 for each 10 000 m³/d and 

part thereof of the total 
volume 

> 100 000 

10 

+ 1 for each 25 000 m³/d and 

part thereof of the total 
volume 

Note  1:  A  supply  zone  is  a  geographically  defined  area  within  which  water  intended  for  human  consumption  comes  from  one  or  more 

sources and within which water quality may be considered as being approximately uniform. 

Note 2: The volumes are calculated as averages taken over a calendar year. A Member State may use the number of inhabitants in a supply 

zone instead of the volume of water to determine the minimum frequency, assuming a water consumption of 2 l/day/capita. 

Note 3: As far as possible, the number of samples should be distributed equally in time and location. 

Note 4: The frequency is to be decided by the Member State concerned. 

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ANNEX III 
Sampling and analysis methods 

1. Screening for compliance with total indicative dose (TID) 

Member States may use screening methods for gross alpha activity and gross beta activity to 
monitor  for  the  parametric  indicator  value  for  TID,  excluding  tritium,  potassium–40,  radon 
and radon decay products.  

If the gross alpha and the gross beta activity are less than 0.1 Bq/l and 1.0 Bq/l respectively, 
the Member State may assume that the TID is less than the parametric indicator value of 0.1 
mSv/year and not require radiological investigation is needed unless it  is known from  other 
sources  of  information  that  specific  radionuclides  are  present  in  the  water  supply  and  are 
liable to cause a TID in excess of 0.1 mSv/year.  

If the gross alpha activity exceeds 0.1 Bq/l or the gross beta activity exceeds 1.0 Bq/l, analysis 
for specific radionuclides shall be required. The radionuclides to be measured shall be defined 
by  Member  States  taking  into  account  all  relevant  information  about  likely  sources  of 
radioactivity.  Since  elevated  levels  of  tritium  may  indicate  the  presence  of  other  artificial 
radionuclides, tritium, gross alpha activity and gross beta activity should be measured in the 
same sample.  

In  replacement  of  gross  alpha  and  gross  beta  activity  screening  discussed  above,  Member 
States  may  decide  to  use  other  reliable  screening  methods  for  radionuclides  to  indicate  the 
presence of radioactivity in drinking water. If one of the activity concentrations exceeds 20% 
of its reference concentration or the tritium concentration exceeds its parametric value of 100 
Bq/l,  an  analysis  of  additional  radionuclides  shall  be  required.  The  radionuclides  to  be 
measured  shall  be  defined  by  Member  States  taking  into  account  all  relevant  information 
about likely sources of radioactivity. 

2. Calculation of the Total Indicative Dose (TID) 

The  TID  is  the  committed  effective  dose  for  one  year  of  intake  resulting  from  all  the 
radionuclides  whose  presence  in  a  water  supply  has  been  detected,  both  of  natural  and 
artificial origin, excluding tritium, potassium–40, radon and radon decay products. The TID 
shall be calculated from the radionuclide concentrations and the dose coefficients for adults 
laid  down  in  Annex  III,  Table  A  of  Directive  96/29/Euratom  or  more  recent  information 
recognised by the competent authorities in the Member State. Where the following formula is 
satisfied, Member States may assume that the TID is less than the parametric indicator value 
of 0.1 mSv/year and no further investigation shall be required: 

n

∑

i

1
=

C
i
C

i

(
obs
(
ref

)
)

≤

1

 (1)  

where   

Ci(obs) = observed concentration of radionuclide i 

Ci(ref)  = reference concentration of radionuclide i 

n 

= number of radionuclides detected. 

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Where the formula is not satisfied, the parametric value shall only be regarded as having been 
exceeded if the radionuclides are  persistently  present at  similar activity concentrations for a 
full  year.  Member  States  shall  define  the  extent  of  resampling  necessary  to  ensure  that  the 
measured values are representative for an average activity concentration for a full year.  

Reference concentrations for radioactivity in drinking water1 

Origin 

Nuclide 

Reference  
concentration 

Natural 

U-2382 

U-2342 

Ra-226 

Ra-228 

C-14 

Sr-90 

3.0 Bq/l 

2.8 Bq/l 

0.5 Bq/l 

0.2 Bq/l 

240 Bq/l 

4.9 Bq/l 

Pu-239/Pu-240 

0.6 Bq/l 

Artificial 

Am-241 

Co-60 

Cs-134 

Cs-137 

I-131 

0.7 Bq/l 

40 Bq/l 

7.2 Bq/l 

11 Bq/l 

6.2 Bq/l 

1  This  table  includes  the  most  common  natural  and  artificial  radionuclides.  Reference  concentrations  for  other  radionuclides  can  be 
calculated  using  the  dose  coefficients  for  adults  laid  down  in  Annex  III,  Table  A  of  Directive  96/29/Euratom,  or  more  recent  information 

recognised by the competent authorities in the Member State, and by assuming an intake of 730 litres per year.  

2  One  milligram  (mg)  of  natural  uranium  contains  12.3  Bq  of  U-238  and  12.3  Bq  of  U-234.  This  table  allows  only  for  the  radiological 
properties of uranium, not for its chemical toxicity. 

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3. Performance characteristics and methods of analysis 

For the following radioactivity parameters, the specified performance characteristics are that 
the  method  of  analysis  used  must,  as  a  minimum,  be  capable  of  measuring  concentrations 
equal to the parametric value with a limit of detection specified.  

Limit of detection 

Parameters 

Tritium 

Gross alpha 

Gross beta  

U-238 

U-234 

Ra-226 

Ra-228 

C-14 

Sr-90 

Pu-239/Pu-240 

Am-241 

Co-60 

Cs-134 

Cs-137 

I-131 

(Note 1) 

10 Bq/l 

0.04 Bq/l 

0.4 Bq/l 

0.02 Bq/l 

0.02 Bq/l 

0.04 Bq/l 

0.08 Bq/l 

20 Bq/l 

0.4 Bq/l 

0.04 Bq/l 

0.06 Bq/l 

0.5 Bq/l 

0.5 Bq/l 

0.5 Bq/l 

0.5 Bq/l 

Notes 

Note 2, 3 

Note 2, 4 

Note 2, 4 

Note 2, 6 

Note 2, 6 

Note 2 

Note 2, 5 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 2 

Note 1: the limit of detection shall be calculated according to ISO 11929-7, Determination of the detection limit and decision thresholds for 
ionizing  radiation measurements-Part  7: Fundamentals  and  general  applications,  with probabilities  of  errors of  1st and  2nd  kind  of 0.05 

each 

Note  2:  measurement  uncertainties  shall  be  calculated  and  reported  as  complete  standard  uncertainties,  or  as  expanded  standard 

uncertainties with an expansion factor of 1.96, according to the ISO Guide for the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (ISO, Geneva 

1993, corrected reprint Geneva, 1995) 

Note 3: the limit of detection for tritium is 10% of its parametric value of 100 Bq/l 

Note 4: the limit of detection for gross alpha and gross beta activities are 40% of the screening values of 0.1 and 1.0 Bq/l respectively 

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Note 5: This Limit of Detection applies only to routine screening; for a new water source for which it is plausible that Ra-228 exceeds 20% 

of the reference concentration, the limit of detection for the first check shall be 0.02 Bq/l for Ra-228 nuclide specific measurements. This 

shall also apply where a subsequent re-check is required. 

Note 6: The low value of the specified detection limit for U is due to taking into account the chemotoxicity of uranium.  

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