Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia

Common card · No. 398668

Radium Hot Springs, informally and commonly called Radium is a village of 1,339 residents in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The village is named for the hot springs in the nearby Kootenay National Park. From Banff, Alberta, it is accessible via Highway 93. The hot springs were named after the radioactive element when an analysis of the water showed that it contained small traces of radon which is a decay product of radium. The radiation dosage from bathing in the pools is inconsequential: approximately 0.13 millirems (1.3 microsieverts) from the water for a half-hour bathing, around ten times average background levels. The air concentration of radon is about 850 becquerels per cubic metre (23 picocuries per litre) which is higher than the level (200 Bq/m3 or 5.4 pCi/L) at which mitigation within two years is encouraged at residences; but is also inconsequential (about 0.7 mrem or 7.0 μSv for a half-hour bathing) from a dose impact perspective.

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