Study of spatial and temporal variation of natural uranium in drinking water around Rawatbhata, Rajasthan Site

A study is carried out to measure the background concentration of natural uranium and other physicochemical parameters in drinking water around Rawatbhata, Rajasthan. Drinking water samples were collected from thirty seven different locations in Pre monsoon and Post monsoon seasons. Parameters like pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Temperature and Total solids (TDS) were analyzed in-situ using Beckman Coulter make water analysis kit. Uranium concentration was estimated using LED Fluorimeter. The uranium concentration varied from BDL (0.02 ppb) to 41.54 ppb. All samples analyzed showed uranium concentration below the drinking water guideline value set by AREB (60 μg/l). Correlation studies between analyzed parameters were also carried out. (author)