Analysis of Natural Uranium in Groundwater of Jhajjar District of Haryana, India using LED Fluorimeter

Abstract

Natural radioactivity has been a part of the environment since the creation of earth. Natural elements like uranium and its by-products can be reason of health problems if they are present in groundwater at excessive amount. Uranium is very harmful because it is very toxic. This study gives the information about the uranium concentration in 40 groundwater samples collected from different water sources like hand pump and tube wells of different depths from numerous locations of Jhajjar district of Haryana, India. Uranium concentration was measured using the LED fluorimetry technique. The observed value of uranium concentration ranged from 5 μgL^-1 to 91 μgL^-1 with mean value of 28.49 μgL^-1. The mean value of uranium concentration is below the safe limit suggested by World Health Organisation (WHO) and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), India. The uranium concentration in some region is high because of nearby industries, increasing uses of fertilizer for agriculture and the local subsurface geology of the region. The calculated risk factors for lifelong cancer morbidity and mortality are not significant because they are much lower than the permitted hazard limits. The chemical toxicity of uranium is measured in form of LADD (Lifetime Average Daily Dose) value was ranging from 0.39 to 6.67 μg kgˉ¹ dayˉ¹ with mean value of 2.02 μg kgˉ¹ dayˉ¹g which is more than the WHO recommended daily consumption threshold of LADD of 1.0 μg kgˉ¹ dayˉ¹. Values of annual effective dose is varying from 0.89-15.16 μSv/Y with mean value is 4.74 μSv/Y, which is below the safe limit of 100 μSv/y (WHO).