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Uranium: Water
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Uranium in drinking water is covered under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law establishes Maximum Contaminant Levels, or MCLs, for radionuclides and other contaminants in drinking water. The uranium limit is 30 µg/l (micrograms per liter) in drinking water.
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Uranium is a radioactive material that is very reactive. As a result it cannot be found in the environment in its elemental form. Uranium compounds that have consisted during reactions of uranium with other elements and substances dissolve in water to their own extend. The water-solubility of a uranium compound determines its mobility in the environment, as well as its toxicity.
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Uranium was shown to have cytotoxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic effects in animal studies (PMID 7694141, PMID 16283518). It has been shown in rodents and frogs that water soluble forms of uranium are teratogenic (PMID 16124873, PMID 11738513, PMID 12539863)
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Uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) is often called green-salt because of its characteristic color. It is generally an intermediate in the conversion of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to either uranium oxide (U3O8 or UO2) or uranium metal, because it can be readily converted to any of these forms. UF4 is a solid composed of agglomerating particles with a texture similar to baking soda. It is non-volatile, non-hydroscopic, but only slightly soluble in water. After exposure to water, UF4 slowly dissolves and undergoes hydrolysis, forming several possible uranium compounds and hydrogen fluoride (HF). The time for hydrolysis can be significant.
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Uranium in air exists as dust that will fall into surface water, on plants or on soils through settling or rainfall. It will than sink to the sediment in water or to the lower soil layers, where it will mix with uranium that is already present.
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Uranium-235 is of even greater importance because it is the key to utilizing uranium. 235U, while occurring in natural uranium to the extent of only 0.71%, is so fissionable with slow neutrons that a self-sustaining fission chain reaction can be made in a reactor constructed from natural uranium and a suitable moderator, such as heavy water or graphite, alone.
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