Assessment of Uranium Biokinetics and Organ Dose Estimation Following Ingestion from Groundwater in the Patiala District, Punjab, India.

Background: Uranium is a radioactive substance which is present in groundwater. Its ingestion through drinking presents both radiological and chemical risks to living organisms. Purpose: Our purpose is to study Uranium (U) retention in human body and the radiological dose delivered to different organs and tissues causing health hazards to residents of Patiala district. Methods: The sample collection was done in clean plastic bottles from 70 different locations of Patiala district. U estimation of groundwater was done by using the ICP-MS technique. Results: U retention and radiological dose delivered to different organs has been estimated using Li’s Model. Time dependence of U in Kidney, Liver, OST and Urinary Bladder has been studied. The maximum excretion occurs through faeces ranging from 41.89 µg d-1 to 371.57 µg d-1, followed by hair (0.16 µg d-1 to 1.44 µg d-1), and then urine (0.09 µg d-1 to 0.78 µg d-1). Conclusions: The uranium concentration in groundwater of Patiala district varies from 30.10 to 267 µg l-1. All the recorded values of U are above the WHO recommended limits (30 µg l-1). Application of Li’s Model reveals that the important organs like kidneys, liver, other soft tissues and cortical bone volume are targeted by natural uranium through the ingestion route. Excretion rate of uranium from hair is higher than the urine. The highest percentage of dose is delivered to bone surfaces (38.5%), followed by kidneys (13.8%), LLI walls (11.5%), Liver (5.2%), ULI walls (4.8%), Red marrow (4.1%), and other organs and tissues (1.3%). Keywords: Uranium, Groundwater, Biokinetic modelling, Uranium Retention, Health Hazards