RE: uranium in drinking water

[Rodney Bauman <RBauman@wssrap.com>]

Conservatively assuming the uranium is soluble (at 800 pCi/l) and factoring
in the radium isotopes (12 pCi/l and 3.5 pCi/l), I calculate an annual
"whole body" committed dose of ~ 1.7 mSv (170 mrem) and an annual committed
dose to the bone surface of ~ 26 mSv (2600 mrem CDE).  My calculation
assumes an intake of 2 liters of well water per day.

No adverse health effects have been observed from radiation exposures of
this magnitude.

For radiation dose comparison, the federal numerical dose limits for workers
in the U.S. nuclear industry are 50 mSv/year (whole body) and 500 mSv/year
to the bone surface.

Also, average North American background (i.e., "natural") whole body doses
are around 3.6 mSv/year (360 mrem/year). 

The radiation dose associated with drinking this well water is in the
neighborhood of natural background doses and within the variation of
background levels from one location to another.  Thus, to claim that such a
radiation exposure is causing an adverse health effect would imply that ill
effects may also be expected from simply living on earth.

BTW, I've never known uranium to absorb through the skin, even in its most
soluble compounds.