SIST EN ISO 13165-3:2025

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2025
Nadomešča:
SIST EN ISO 13165-3:2020
Kakovost vode - Radij Ra-226 - 3. del: Preskusna metoda s soobarjanjem in gama
spektrometrijo (ISO 13165-3:2024)
Water quality - Radium-226 - Part 3: Test method using coprecipitation and gamma-ray
spectrometry (ISO 13165-3:2024)
Wasserbeschaffenheit - Radium-226 - Teil 3: Verfahren mittels Kopräzipitation und
Gamma-Ray-Spektrometrie (ISO 13165-3:2024)
Qualité de l'eau - Radium-226 - Partie 3: Méthode d’essai par coprécipitation et
spectrométrie gamma (ISO 13165-3:2024)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 13165-3:2024
ICS:
13.060.60 Preiskava fizikalnih lastnosti Examination of physical
vode properties of water
17.240 Merjenje sevanja Radiation measurements
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN ISO 13165-3
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
December 2024
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 13.060.60; 17.240 Supersedes EN ISO 13165-3:2020
English Version
Water quality - Radium-226 - Part 3: Test method using
coprecipitation and gamma-ray spectrometry (ISO 13165-
3:2024)
Qualité de l'eau - Radium-226 - Partie 3: Méthode Wasserbeschaffenheit - Radium-226 - Teil 3: Verfahren
d'essai par coprécipitation et spectrométrie gamma mittels Kopräzipitation und Gamma-Ray-
(ISO 13165-3:2024) Spektrometrie (ISO 13165-3:2024)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 14 September 2024.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2024 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 13165-3:2024 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
European foreword
This document (EN ISO 13165-3:2024) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 147 "Water
quality" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 230 “Water analysis” the secretariat of
which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2025, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by June 2025.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN ISO 13165-3:2020.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 13165-3:2024 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 13165-3:2024 without any
modification.
International
Standard
ISO 13165-3
Second edition
Water quality — Radium-226 —
2024-12
Part 3:
Test method using coprecipitation
and gamma-ray spectrometry
Qualité de l'eau — Radium-226 —
Partie 3: Méthode d’essai par coprécipitation et
spectrométrie gamma
Reference number
ISO 13165-3:2024(en) © ISO 2024

ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
© ISO 2024
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Symbols . 2
5 Principle . 3
6 Reagents and equipment . 4
6.1 Reagents .4
6.2 Equipment .4
7 Sampling . 5
7.1 General .5
7.2 Sample collection . . .5
7.3 Sample transportation and storage .5
8 Procedure . 5
8.1 Blank sample preparation .5
8.2 Sample preparation .5
8.3 Counting procedure .6
9 Quality assurance and quality control programme . 6
9.1 General .6
9.2 Interferences .6
9.3 Method verification .7
9.4 Demonstration of analyst capability . .7
10 Expression of results . 7
10.1 General .7
10.2 Water-soluble Ra activity concentration .7
10.3 Standard uncertainty of activity concentration .8
10.4 Decision threshold .8
10.5 Detection limit .9
10.6 Limits of the coverage intervals . .9
10.6.1 Limits of the probabilistically symmetric coverage interval .9
10.6.2 Shortest coverage interval .10
10.7 Corrections for contributions from other radionuclides and background .10
10.7.1 General .10
10.7.2 Contribution from other radionuclides .10
10.7.3 Contribution from background .11
11 Test report .12
Annex A (informative) Uranium-238 decay chain . 14
Bibliography .15

iii
ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely
with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 147, Water quality, Subcommittee SC 3,
Radioactivity measurements, in collaboration with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
Technical Committee CEN/TC 230, Water analysis, in accordance with the Agreement on technical
cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 13165-3:2016), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— the introduction has been completely revised;
— the principal of measurement in Clause 5 has been expanded;
— the instrument verification subclause (formerly 9.3) has been deleted;
— formulae for the coverage intervals according to ISO 11929 series have been updated;
— requirements of the test report have been updated.
A list of all parts in the ISO 13165 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
Introduction
Radionuclides are present throughout the environment; thus, water bodies (e.g. surface waters, ground
waters, sea waters) contain radionuclides, which can be of either natural or anthropogenic origin.
3 14 40
— Naturally-occurring radionuclides, including H, C, K, and those originating from the thorium and
210 210 222 226 228 227 231 234
uranium decay series (see Annex A), in particular Pb, Po, Rn, Ra, Ra, Ac, Pa, U, and
U, can be found in water bodies due to either natural processes (e.g. desorption from the soil, runoff by
rain water) or released from technological processes involving naturally occurring radioactive materials
(e.g. mining, mineral processing, oil, gas and coal production, water treatment, and the production and
use of phosphate fertilisers).
55 59 63 90 99
— Anthropogenic radionuclides, such as Fe, Ni, Ni, Sr, Tc, transuranic elements (e.g. Np, Pu, Am,
60 137
Cm) and some gamma emitting radionuclides, such as Co, Cs, can also be found in natural waters.
Small quantities of anthropogenic radionuclides can be discharged from nuclear facilities to the
environment as a result of authorized routine releases. The radionuclides present in liquid effluents are
[1]
usually controlled before being discharged into the environment and water bodies. Anthropogenic
radionuclides used in medical and industrial applications can be released to the environment after use.
Anthropogenic radionuclides are also found in waters due to contamination from fallout resulting from
above-ground nuclear detonations and accidents such as those that have occurred at the Chornobyl and
Fukushima nuclear facilities.
Radionuclide activity concentrations in water bodies can vary according to local geological characteristics
and climatic conditions and can be locally and temporally enhanced by releases from nuclear facilities
[2],[3]
during planned, existing and emergency exposure situations . Some drinking water sources can thus
contain radionuclides at activity concentrations that can present a human health risk. The World Health
[4]
Organization (WHO) recommends to routinely monitor radioactivity in drinking waters and to take
proper actions when needed to minimize the health risk.
National regulations usually specify the activity concentration limits that are authorized in drinking waters,
water bodies and liquid effluents to be discharged to the environment. These limits can vary for planned,
existing and emergency exposure situations. As an example, during either a planned or existing situation,
226 −1
the WHO guidance level for Ra in drinking water is 1 Bq·l , see NOTE. Compliance with these limits is
assessed by measuring radioactivity in water samples and by comparing the results obtained, with their
[5] [6]
associated uncertainties, as specified by ISO/IEC Guide 98-3 and ISO 5667-20 .
−1
NOTE The guidance level calculated in Reference [4] is the activity concentration that, with an intake of 2 l·d of
−1
drinking water for one year, results in an effective dose of 0,1 mSv·a to members of the public. This is an effective
dose that represents a very low level of risk to human health and which is not expected to give rise to any detectable
[4]
adverse health effects .
This document contains method(s) to support laboratories, which need to determine Ra in water samples.
The method described in this document can be used for various types of waters (see Clause 1). Minor
modifications to, for example, the sample volume and the counting time, can be made if needed to ensure
that the characteristic limit, decision threshold, detection limit and uncertainties are below the required
limits. This can be done for several reasons such as emergency situations, lower national guidance limits
and operational requirements.
This document deals with the measurement of the activity concentration of radionuclides in water samples.

v
International Standard ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
Water quality — Radium-226 —
Part 3:
Test method using coprecipitation and gamma-ray
spectrometry
WARNING — Persons using this document should be familiar with normal laboratory practices. This
document does not purport to address all of the safety problems, if any, associated with its use. It is
the responsibility of the user to establish appropriate safety and health practices and to determine
the applicability of any other restrictions.
IMPORTANT — It is absolutely essential that tests conducted according to this document are carried
out by suitably trained staff.
1 Scope
This document specifies a method to determine radium-226 ( Ra) activity concentration in all types of
[7]
water by coprecipitation followed by gamma-ray spectrometry (see ISO 20042 ).
226 −1
The method covers the measurement of soluble Ra activity concentrations greater than 0,002 Bq·l using
a sample volume of up to 100 l of any water type.
For water samples with a volume of less than a volume of 1 l, direct gamma-ray spectrometry can be
performed following ISO 10703 but with a higher detection limit. The typical detection limit for samples of
−1[8]
1 l to 5 l is in the range of 0,002 to 0,000 40 Bq·l .
NOTE This test method can be adapted to determine other naturally occurring isotopes of radium, such as Ra,
224 228
Ra and Ra, if the respective ingrowth periods are taken into account.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 5667-3, Water quality — Sampling — Part 3: Preservation and handling of water samples
ISO 10703, Water quality — Gamma-ray emitting radionuclides — Test method using high resolution gamma-
ray spectrometry
ISO 11929 (all parts), Determination of the characteristic limits (decision threshold, detection limit and limits of
the coverage interval) for measurements of ionizing radiation
ISO 12749-1, Nuclear energy — Vocabulary — Part 1: General terminology
ISO 12749-2, Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection — Vocabulary — Part 2:
Radiological protection
ISO 12749-3, Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection — Vocabulary — Part 3: Nuclear
installations, processes and technologies
ISO 12749-4, Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection — Vocabulary — Part 4:
Dosimetry for radiation processing

ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
ISO 12749-5, Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection — Vocabulary — Part 5: Nuclear
reactors
ISO 12749-6, Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection — Vocabulary — Part 6: Nuclear
medicine
ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
ISO 80000-10, Quantities and units — Part 10: Atomic and nuclear physics
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 12749-1, ISO 12749-2, ISO 12749-3,
ISO 12749-4, ISO 12749-5, ISO 12749-6, ISO 80000-10 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
activity
number of spontaneous nuclear disintegrations occurring in a given quantity of material during a suitably
small interval of time divided by that interval of time
4 Symbols
For the purposes of this document, the following symbols apply.
A Activity of each radionuclide in calibration source, at the time of calibration Bq
226 −1
c Activity concentration of Ra, without and with corrections Bq·l
A
* −1
Decision threshold, without and with corrections Bq·l
c
A
#
−1
Detection limit, without and with corrections Bq·l
c
A
−1

c Possible or assumed true quantity values of the measurand Bq·l
A

−1
c Lower limit of the probabilistically symmetric coverage interval of the measurand Bq·l
A

−1
Upper limit of the probabilistically symmetric coverage interval of the measurand Bq·l
c
A
< −1
Lower limit of the shortest coverage interval of the measurand Bq·l
c
A
>
−1
Upper limit of the shortest coverage interval of the measurand Bq·l
c
A
ε Detection efficiency at energy, E, at actual measurement geometry —
E
f Correction factor considering all necessary corrections —
E
Quantiles of the standardised normal distribution for the probabilities p (for instance
k —
p
p=−1 α , p=−1 β or p=−12γ / )
Quantiles of the standardised normal distribution for the probabilities q (for instance
k —
q
q=−1 α , q=−1 β or q=−12γ / )
ISO 13165-3:2024(en)
m
car-
Mass of barium carbonate g
bonate
m Mass of barium nitrate g
nitrate
m Mass of barium sulfate g
sulfate
n Number of counts in the background of the peak considered, at energy E, in the sample —
b,E
Number of counts in the background of the peak considered, at energy E, in the back-
n —
b0,E
ground
n Number of counts in the background of the peak considered, at energy E, in the standard —
bs,E
n Number of counts in the gross area
...