TY  - JOUR
AU  - Liesch, T.
AU  - Hinrichsen, S.
AU  - Goldscheider, N.
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Uranium in groundwater — Fertilizers versus geogenic sources
JO  - Science of The Total Environment
SP  - 981
EP  - 995
VL  - 536
KW  - Drinking water
KW  - Fertilizer
KW  - Geogenic background
KW  - Groundwater
KW  - Uranium
N2  - Due to its radiological and toxicological properties even at low concentration levels, uranium is increasingly recognized as relevant contaminant in drinking water from aquifers. Uranium originates from different sources, including natural or geogenic, mining and industrial activities, and fertilizers in agriculture. The goal of this study was to obtain insights into the origin of uranium in groundwater while differentiating between geogenic sources and fertilizers. A literature review concerning the sources and geochemical processes affecting the occurrence and distribution of uranium in the lithosphere, pedosphere and hydrosphere provided the background for the evaluation of data on uranium in groundwater at regional scale. The state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, was selected for this study, because of its hydrogeological and land-use diversity, and for reasons of data availability. Uranium and other parameters from N=1935 groundwater monitoring sites were analyzed statistically and geospatially. Results show that (i) 1.6% of all water samples exceed the German legal limit for drinking water (10μg/L); (ii) The range and spatial distribution of uranium and occasional peak values seem to be related to geogenic sources; (iii) There is a clear relation between agricultural land-use and low-level uranium concentrations, indicating that fertilizers generate a measurable but low background of uranium in groundwater.
SN  - 0048-9697
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969715301923
N1  - exported from refbase (http://www.uhydro.de/base/show.php?record=145), last updated on Fri, 26 Jan 2024 13:19:04 +0100
ID  - Liesch_etal2015
ER  -