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Uranium In Drinking Water Poses Threat To Western U.S.

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Dec 10, 2015 09:13 AM EST

Drinking water is worryingly being contaminated with uranium. In Central Valley in California as well as the Central Plains, scientists found that not much action has been taken to let the public understand health risks, said the Associated Press

University of Nebraska scientists published a study  a few months ago regarding uranium contamination in the High Plains and the Central Valley, two major U.S. aquifers, according to RT  Both aquifers were supplying drinking water to 6 million residents.

Moreover, the High Plains aquifer's uranium level was 89 times above the safe level that had been fixed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is 30 µg/L. Hence, the uranium contamination in the Central Valley had shot 180 times above the safe level.

Such water with high levels of uranium can lead to kidney damage, cancer and high blood pressure, say government authorities.

In a trailer park in San Joaquin Valley, some notices were posted on the front doors explaining that their water was not drinkable due to high uranium levels. Those who consume it over long periods of time could get cancer.

Ironically, the Spanish-speaking owners could not read the legal posts put up there by the park owners.

For instance, Mark Sorensen, a farmer and leader of the local farm in Fresno County agreed that he had no awareness about the dangerous uranium levels.

"To be honest, I have never spoken to anybody about uranium," he told AP. "I've never even heard of it in drinking water."

Uranium, a naturally occurring element, has got leeched due to widespread farming. A lot of the uranium is being permitted to seep into the groundwater. Moreover, an "intense four-year-drought" in California has made farmers pump more groundwater, leading to uranium getting pulled into drinking wells, according to ABC News.

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