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Uranium: occurrence, distribution across India and its potential health effects

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Abstract

Uranium contamination in the aquatic environment is an emerging concern worldwide. With the development of the global economy, uranium contamination has gradually increased in recent years due to industrialization, agriculture practices and overexploitation of groundwater resources. Because of the complexity of uranium in the environment, the primary concern is to understand the potential impacts on human health and the environment, especially in a developing country like India where groundwater and surface water are the major sources of drinking water. This review presents an understanding of the sources and distribution of uranium contamination in parts of India along with its interaction and potential impacts on human health. This paper further emphasizes that there is a need for efficient strategies and low-cost removal techniques for the poor population in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India for providing financial support under the project No. DST/TMD/EWO/WTI/2K18/05(C), the Director, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, DRDO and the Dean, University School of Environment Management, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University for valuable support.

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  1. Ruth Daniel and Dhananjay Tripathi contributed equally to this article as first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, 110054, Delhi, India

    Ruth Daniel, Dhananjay Tripathi, Sukhvir Singh, Arihant Yuvraaj & Vinod Kumar

  2. Department of Textile and Fiber Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, 110016, Delhi, India

    Navneet Sharma

  3. University School of Environment Management (USEM), Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, 110078, Dwarka, Delhi, India

    Deeksha Katyal & Vinod Kumar

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Daniel, R., Tripathi, D., Singh, S. et al. Uranium: occurrence, distribution across India and its potential health effects. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331, 2805–2815 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08373-3

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