Preliminary Assessment of Uranium Contamination in Drinking Water Sources Near a Uranium Mine in the Siavonga District,
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TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Preliminary Assessment of Uranium Contamination in Drinking Water Sources Near a Uranium Mine in the Siavonga District, Zambia, and Associated Health Risks Titus Haakonde1,2 · John Yabe1 · Kennedy Choongo1,3 · Gershom Chongwe4 · Md. Saiful Islam5,6 Received: 10 April 2020 / Accepted: 8 October 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Uranium (U) levels in drinking water sources in the vicinity of a U mine in the Siavonga district in the Southern Province of Zambia are alarming. The median U concentrations in drinking water sources showed a decreasing trend: streams (135.30 µg/L) > dams (115.62 µg/L) > boreholes (111.31 µg/L) > shallow wells (110.03 µg/L). The U levels in all the samples exceeded the safe limit for drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization, suggesting that the water is not safe for consumption. The mean target hazard quotients (THQ) in all of the water samples exceeded the safe limit (THQ > 1), implying that consumers of this water were at a greater risk of potential non-carcinogenic health effects. The carcinogenic risks from uranium at most of the drinking water sources also exceeded acceptable thresholds (10–6), indicating an increased risk of cancer for the population. Keywords Impact · Assessment · Concentration · Mining · Exposure
Introduction Generally, mining and smelting are the primary anthropogenic sources of U contamination in the water and soil environment (Giri et al. 2011; Lewis et al. 2015; Wufuer et al. 2018). Other sources of U pollution are phosphate fertilizers * Md. Saiful Islam [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Department of Para‑Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
2
Environmental Health Section, School of Applied and Health Sciences, Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce, Lusaka, Zambia
3
School of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji Islands
4
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
5
Department of Soil Science, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh
6
Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
and wastes from the electronics industries and ammunition factories (Carvalho et al. 2009; Katz 2014; Onsekizoglu 2012). Uranium can quickly enter into aquatic systems through river flow and surface runoff, and the enrichment of U in groundwater has become a global concern (Erdei et al. 2019; Höllriegl et al. 2011; Wagner et al. 2011). The contamination of drinking water with U is thought to be the most significant health risk for residents in regions where the U concentrations in the drinking water exceed 30 μg/L (Canada 2020). Uranium is present in the Earth’s crust, soil, plants, and rocks, with an average abundance of 1.
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