Assessment of Radiological Risks and Chemical Toxicity due to Exposure of Uranium in Water Samples of District Mahendergarh Haryana, India

Abstract

In this study, we focused on assessing the concentration of uranium in drinking water samples from 50 locations in the Mahendergarh district of Haryana state, India, using a LED Fluorimeter Quantalase (LF-2a). Uranium, a radioactive element, can pose risks to human healthif ingested excessively over long periods. Our observations revealed significant variation in uranium concentration in water samples, with a mean value of 10.8±1 µg l^-1. However, it is worth noting that this value fallswithin the recommended safe limit for drinking water. Additionally, we conducted calculations to estimate the annual uranium ingestion dose, which ranged from 0.11 µSv y^-1 to 43.8 µSv y^-1. The maximum annual ingestion dose is calculated for the adult male group. The lifetime average daily dose of uranium was also calculated, value was found to vary from 0.01 µg kg^-1 day^-1 to 0.81 µg kg^-1 day^-1, with an average value of 0.31 µg kg^-1 day^-1. We also identified a weak positive correlation between groundwater depthand uranium concentration.