Mobilization and health risk assessment of fertilizer induced uranium in coastal groundwater

Abstract

Uranium (U) in groundwater is hazardous to human health, especially if it is present in drinking water. The semiarid regions of southern India chiefly depend on groundwater for drinking purposes. In this regard, a comprehensive sampling strategy was adopted to collect groundwater representing different lithologies of the region. The samples were collected in two different seasons and analysed for major and minor ions along with total U in the groundwater. Two samples during pre monsoon (PRM) and seven samples during post monsoon (POM) had U > 30 μgL^-1, which is above the World Health Organization's provisional guideline value. The high concentration of U (188 μgL^-1) was observed in the alluvial formation though a few samples showed the release of U near the pink granite (39 μgL^-1) and the concentration was low in the lateritic formation (10 μgL^-1). The uranyl carbonato complexes UO₂(CO₃)₂^2- and UO₂(CO₃)₃^4- were associated with high pH which facilitated the transport of U into groundwater especially during POM. U₃O₈ is the major form observed in groundwater compared to either UO₂ or UO₃ in the both seasons. The uranium oxides were observed to be more prevalent at the neutral pH. Though U concentration increases with pH, it is mainly governed by the redox conditions. The principal component analysis (PCA) analysis also suggested redox conditions in groundwater to be the major process facilitating the U release mechanism regardless of the season. The POM season has an additional source of U in groundwater due to the application of nitrogenous fertilizers in the alluvium region. Furthermore, redox mobilization factor was predominantly observed near the coastal region and in the agricultural regions. The process of infiltration of the fertilizer-induced U was enhanced by the agricultural runoff into the surface water bodies in the region. Health risk assessment was also carried out by determining annual effective dose rate, cancer mortality risk, lifetime average daily dose and hazard quotient to assess the portability of groundwater in the study area. Artificial recharge technique and reducing the usage of chemical based fertilizers for irrigation are suggested as sustainable plans to safeguard the vulnerable water resource in this region.

Keywords: Agriculture; Health hazards; Landuse; Lithology; Redox; Uranium.