Uranium in river ecosystems of coastal Karnataka

The paper discusses the results of systematic measurement of uranium concentration in water samples of Kali, Sharavathi and Netravathi, major rivers of coastal Karnataka. The uranium concentrations in water been measured by Laser Fluorimeter. The mean concentration of uranium in the Kali river was found to be 35.5 mBql-1, 25.4 mBql-1 and 21.3 mBql-1 in pre-monsoon, post-monsoon and monsoon season respectively. In the Sharavathi river the mean concentration of uranium was found to be 27.9 mBql-1 for pre-monsoon, 32.1 mBql-1 for post monsoon and 30.8 mBqI-1 for monsoon season respectively. In Netravathi river it was found to be 26.3 mBqI-1, 33.2 mBqI-1 and 30.4 mBqI-1 for pro- monsoon, post-monsoon and monsoon seasons respectively. The ingestion dose was computed from measured uranium concentration in river water using dose coefficient values from International Commission on Radiological Protection and the results of these investigations are presented and discussed in this paper. (author)