Abstract: The radiation exposure received by mankind mainly comes from natural radiation. This study investigated the levels of ²¹⁰Po in water samples from some NORM industries along the Yangtze River. The activities of ²¹⁰Po in the effluent from coal-fired power plants, a cement plant, an iron and steel making plant and an iron ore were (0.93—4.76)×10^-3 Bq/L,(1.12±0.07)×10^-2 Bq/L,(9.89±0.78)×10^-3 Bq/L and (2.17±0.21) Bq/L, which were all in fluctuation range of ²¹⁰Po concentrations in the Yangtze River. The activities of ²¹⁰Po in the effluent and rainwater from rare earth plants were as high as (1.03—1.40)×10^-1 Bq/L and (3.05±0.04)×10^-1 Bq/L, which were two orders of magnitude higher than the background level. This should be paid special attention and needs further research.

Key words: ²¹⁰Po, water, naturally occurring radioactive materials(NORM), α-spectrometry, spontaneous deposition