# A New Methodological Approach for the Assessment of the \({}^{238}\)U Content in Drinking Water
## 4 Conclusions  
In the present article, a new methodological approach to evaluate the \({}^{238}\)U content in drinking water was reported. A sample from Paola, a selected location of the Calabria region, southern Italy, was taken as a case study. HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry was employed, with the aim of quantifying the specific activity of the \({}^{234}\)mPa radioisotope after a preconcentration procedure and thus to assess the activity concentration of \({}^{238}\)U, under the hypothesis of the secular radioactive equilibrium between it and its daughter. The accuracy of the obtained results was then evaluated through the calculation of the \(z\)-score parameter, taking into account the \({}^{238}\)U (ug/L) concentration, as measured with ICP-MS as reference value. From the results, i.e., \(z\)-score equal to 1.85 for a factor of preconcentration equal to 37.5, the validity of the proposed methodological approach is assessed. Moreover, with reference to the radiological health risk evaluation, the specific activity of \({}^{238}\)U in the analyzed drinking water sample was much lower than the reference value of 3 Bq/L, set as a threshold by the regulatory limit. This result thus indicates that the ingestion of drinking water might not pose any significant radiological health hazards for the population of the studied area. Conceptualization, F.C. and V.V. ; methodology, F.C. and V.C. ; validation, D.M. ; formal analysis, A.B., S.M. and M.D. ; investigation, F.C., S.E.S., G.P. and V.V. ; resources, F.C.,  
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