Radiation Dose and Toxicological Risk Assessment of Uranium in Drinking Water of Eastern Rajasthan, India

The present study investigates uranium concentrations in 345 drinking water samples collected from the Dausa and Sawai Madhopur districts of Rajasthan, India, and assesses the associated radiological and chemical health risks. The measurement of uranium concentrations was performed using the light-emitting diode fluorimetric method (Model LF-2a). The uranium concentrations vary between 0.52 and 222 µg L-1, with an arithmetic mean of 14.8 µg L-1, and a median 7.7 µg L-1. This investigation found that 12.2% of the samples exceeded the World Health Organization guideline value of 30 µg L-1. The assessment of radiation dose considered the differing water intake patterns among various age groups, indicating that infants are the most vulnerable to uranium-induced health impacts. The average excess cancer risk obtained in the present study is lower than the value prescribed by India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (1.67 × 10-4). The results indicate that the mean daily intake of uranium varied between 0.01 and 6.33 µg kg-1 d-1, and hazard quotient analysis indicated potential chemical toxicity risks in 9.6% of the samples. Uranium was found to be positively related to total dissolved solids.