ANALYSIS OF URANIUM IN DRINKING WATER SAMPLES USING LASER INDUCED FLUORIMETRY

Abstract

Uranium concentration in drinking water samples collected from some areas of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh has been measured using a laser induced fluorimetry technique. The sources of water comprise hand pumps and tube wells. Uranium concentration in the water samples from Punjab varies from 1.39 +/- 0.16 to 98.25 +/- 2.06 ppb with a mean value of 19.84 +/- 0.87 ppb. The uranium concentration in most of the drinking water samples from Punjab exceeds the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization. However, the uranium concentration in water samples from Himachal Pradesh is well within the recommended levels. The annual effective dose equivalent associated with drinking water due to uranium concentration is estimated from its annual intake using dosimetric information based on ICRP Report 72. The resulting value of the annual effective dose from drinking water sources is in the range of 0.13 to 81.59 muSv. The annual effective dose received by the population due to the consumption of drinking water from these areas is well within the recommended limit. In order to check the accuracy of the technique a few water samples were also analyzed using a fission track registration technique. A good agreement has been observed between the uranium values determined by these techniques.