Ingestion doses and hazard quotients due to intake of Uranium in drinking water from Udhampur District of Jammu and Kashmir State, India

Ground water in environment is contaminated by atomic radiations of natural occurring radioactive elements like Uranium and Thorium. The Uranium (²³⁸U) concentration has been measured in drinking water samples collected from different sources like the hand pumps and natural spring/bowli from wide range of locations in Udhampur District, Jammu and Kashmir (J and K), India by using LED fluorimetry technique. The Uranium concentrations in four tehsils viz. Udhampur, Ramnagar, Chenani and Majalta are varied from (0.25-27.15) μg L^-1, (0.19-27.93) μg L^-1, (0.14-0.68) μg L^-1, and (1.63-28.06) μg L^-1 with mean value 13.57 μg L^-1, 9.67 μg L^-1, 0.29 μg L^-1, and 17.61 μg L^-1, respectively. The values of ingestion dose for different age group and chemical risks have also been calculated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Uranium concentration in ground water samples and to determine its health effects to the habitants of the study area. All the recorded values of Uranium are compared with the safe limits recommended for drinking water by various health and environmental protection agencies (WHO, USEPA, and AERB). Physico-chemical properties such as pH, conductance and total dissolved solids (TDS) have been determined in water samples. (authors)