Evaluation of Uranium Concentration in Some Water Samples of Anandpur Sahib

Abstract

Uranium is the most radiotoxic and heaviest element with a very long half-life, present in the earth crust naturally. Due to various health risks of uranium, worldwide a lot of research has been done on its concentration in naturally occurring radioactive materials by various researchers. The present study deals with assessment of uranium in drinking water samples of the city of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab by fluorimeter technique. 15 different locations water samples, including tube well, borewell, and hand pumps, were taken for this study. A surface water sample taken from a river named ‘Sutlej’ contained 1.25 μgl-1 of uranium. However, the uranium concentration in all the collected water samples ranged from 2.79 μgl-1 to 18.4 μgl-1. One of the physiochemical parameters, i.e. pH, was also measured for all the water samples. The results of all the water samples were compared with the permissible limits specified by numerous health authorities.