Assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk from exposure to uranium in groundwater from western Haryana, India

This study was carried out to assess the distribution of uranium in groundwater by using LED fluorimeter LF-2a and chemical and radiological risks associated with its consumption in Sirsa district, Haryana, India. Uranium concentration ranged between 0.93 and 290μg l-1 with an average value of 49 μg l-1. About 44% of the groundwater samples had uranium concentration above the maximum contamination level of 30 μg l-1 prescribed by the World Health Organization and United States Environmental Protection Agency and 22% of the samples exceeded the permissible limit of 60 μgl-1 prescribed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, India. The average cancer morbidity and mortality risks are determined to be 1.10 × 10-4 and 7.17 × 10-5 respectively, indicating the negligible carcinogenic risk. Hazard quotient for 44% samples is greater than unity which indicates health risk due to chemical toxicity of uranium in groundwater. The associated age-dependent annual effective dose is estimated by taking the prescribed water intake values of different age groups.