Uranium in stream and mineral water of the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

The concentration of uranium was determined in 944 samples from stream water by the inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP-QMS) method and represented on a color-shaded contour map. Uranium concentrations in surface water were determined to be between 0.007 μg/l and 43.7 μg/l with median of 0.33 μg/l. The regional distribution of uranium is influenced primarily by lithological and anthropogenic factors. In Mecklenburg, northern Brandenburg, and eastern Schleswig-Holstein, elevated uranium concentrations coincide with the extent of the last Weichselian ice sheet. The maximum concentrations are observed in the surface waters of the old mining districts in the western part of the Ore Mountains and in eastern Thuringia. Elevated concentrations are found in areas of agriculturally used loess soils. These concentrations correlate with the use of phosphate fertilizers. There is a zone of elevated concentrations up to 10.0 μg U/l in the Keuper Sandstone area south of the Thuringian Forest and from northwest of Stuttgart as far as Coburg. The distribution of elevated values in mineral water shows a clear correlation with the elevated values in surface water and the geology of those locations. Bunter and Keuper strata are the most important uranium source.

Distribution of uranium in German bottled and tap water

“…1) and partly to that for surface water ). This is not surprising since the uranium concentration in tap water is influenced to equal extents by the same geological origin and the same anthropogenic uranium emissions as for bottled and surface water (Fisenne, 1994;Birke et al, 2009).…”

“…The distribution of uranium and its sources in surface water have been described by Birke and Rauch (2008) and Birke et al (2009). Uranium concentration in bottled and tap water is determined to equal extents by the geological origin and anthropogenic uranium emissions (Fisenne, 1994;Schnug et al, 2005;Knolle, 2008;Schnug et al, 2008;Knolle and Schnug, 2009).…”

“…Because uranium is present in numerous minerals in the Earth's crust, it is also present in plant and animal foods (Anke et al, 2009), groundwater, surface water, and tap water (Sparovek et al, 2001;Schnug et al, 2008;Schulz et al, 2008;Birke et al, 2009). The solubility, mobility, and bioavailability of uranium compounds in abiotic and biotic systems depends to a high degree on the uranium species (Merkel et al, 2002;Dobler et al, 2007a,b;Bernhard and Geipel, 2007).…”

“…Uranium may enter bottled and tap water from naturally occurring deposits or as a result of human activity, such as mill tailings (Dreesen et al, 1982;Cothern and Lappenbusch, 1983), emissions from the nuclear industry, the combustion of coal and other fuels, and the use of phosphate fertilizers that contain uranium. Phosphate fertilizers sold in Germany contain an average concentration of 61.3 mg U/kg (Eckhardt and Schnug, 2008) and can also contribute uranium to groundwater (Spalding and Sackett, 1972;Birke et al, 2009).…”

Environmental Geochemistry of Uranium in Recent Sediments of Alkhasa Valley in Kirkuk City / Northern Iraq

“…The mobility of Uis reverse and its concentration in soil increases with decreasing sand content and increasing clay content due to the adsorption on the surface of particles rather than ionic-type or intrafoliar retention (Birke et al,2009;Bird and Evenden, 1996). The adsorption and transport of U to sediments allows for accumulation in stream sediments (Brierly, 1981).…”