Uranium

Status: National drinking water standard exists

Uranium is a known human carcinogen. The federal legal limit for uranium is set at 30 micrograms per liter (corresponding to parts per billion), but utilities can also report uranium in picocuries per liter (pCi/L), which is a measure of radioactivity in water. EWG translated all uranium results to pCi/L using a conversion factor developed by the EPA. With this conversion approach, the limit of 30 ppb corresponds to 20 pCi/L. Drinking water with this much uranium would cause more than 4.6 cancer cases in a population of 100,000. California set a public health goal for uranium of 0.43 pCi/L. Read More.

Multiple forms of uranium can be detected in water, including uranium-234, uranium-235 and uranium-238. Uranium-234 is the most toxic form of uranium for human health.

2012-2017:

FOUND

FOUND ABOVE HEALTH GUIDELINES

FOUND ABOVE LEGAL LIMIT

states detected

8,188

utilities detected

85 million

people served

states over health guideline

6,699

utilities over health guideline

65 million

people served over health guideline

states over legal limit

137

utilities over legal limit

123,000

people served over legal limit

Health concerns for uranium

Cancer

Harm to the kidney

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.43 pCi/L

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.43 pCi/L for uranium was defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal, the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. Three most common uranium isotopes are U-234, U-235 and U-238. All isotopes of uranium are radioactive, and the total radioactivity depends on the ratio of isotopes. This health guideline protects against cancer.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) 20 pCi/L

pCi/L = picocuries per liter

States reporting uranium in drinking water

	UTILITIES REPORTING ABOVE HEALTH GUIDELINES			UTILITIES WITH CONTAMINATION
State	Utilities	People Served		Utilities	People Served
California		889	28,641,895			924	29,988,478
Texas		992	7,261,580			1,102	10,932,143
Florida		111	4,011,267			228	7,745,178
Arizona		102	5,084,807			105	5,136,855
New York		273	955,503			483	3,914,520
New Jersey		84	2,047,959			122	3,884,931
Colorado		319	1,922,306			412	3,848,495
Nevada		153	2,564,986			158	2,566,706
Pennsylvania		275	1,869,863			377	2,288,701
New Mexico		453	1,701,317			466	1,784,918
Indiana		42	1,272,406			64	1,459,015
Utah		42	1,405,065			47	1,424,840
Louisiana		23	943,196			73	1,369,847
Wisconsin		86	716,703			238	1,326,855
Idaho		379	953,057			433	1,036,104
Oklahoma		274	730,375			315	861,129
Hawaii		1	1,760			5	694,534
Missouri		30	71,715			58	454,399
North Carolina		337	149,364			409	453,536
Montana		392	341,295			399	359,102
Oregon		70	111,602			83	349,620
Maine		111	92,748			138	328,558
Connecticut		200	77,790			229	327,511
Wyoming		137	289,703			135	314,900
Kansas		55	309,507			55	309,507
North Dakota		157	133,934			193	297,038
Nebraska		114	284,002			114	284,067
New Hampshire		286	107,382			375	267,231
Maryland		8	158,273			8	158,273
Minnesota		20	148,322			22	150,612
South Carolina		59	123,578			60	127,245
Georgia		48	42,645			51	86,319
Illinois		5	27,383			28	67,461
Kentucky		4	13,335			11	64,908
Michigan		4	3,675			12	45,968
Iowa		31	43,038			35	44,843
Mississippi		2	2,167			20	43,891
Virginia		20	6,970			43	37,681
Alaska		5	1,719			36	36,286
Massachusetts		24	10,729			27	31,129
South Dakota		26	19,414			28	19,500
Vermont		34	12,222			40	13,991
Washington		12	10,644			16	11,746
West Virginia		2	2,300			3	5,002
Rhode Island		8	1,232			8	1,232

LESS

Filtering technologies that reduce uranium

Utilities with the highest amounts of uranium, 2012-2017

ALL UTILITIES

LARGE UTILITIES

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
Crawford*	Crawford, GA	5 of 5	69.27 pCi/L	1,170
Glen Acres Water Co-op	Lordsburg, NM	24 of 24	64.35 pCi/L	185
Alto	Alto, GA	14 of 14	62.37 pCi/L	2,545
Sierra Linda Mutual Water Company	North Fork, CA	5 of 5	61.60 pCi/L	180
Oconee Springs Landing S/d	Atlanta, GA	1 of 1	60.00 pCi/L	351
South Kingstown Nursing and Rehabilitati	West Kingston, RI	6 of 6	58.18 pCi/L	175
Meadow Lakes Subdivision	Crawford, GA	3 of 3	58.00 pCi/L	81
Sierra Cedars Community Services District	Clovis, CA	2 of 2	57.50 pCi/L	875
Riviera WCID	Riviera, TX	32 of 32	53.77 pCi/L	729
Hillview Water Company-oakhurst/sierra Lakes*	Oakhurst, CA	165 of 166	51.32 pCi/L	2,805
Broadview Terrace Mutual Water Company	Oakhurst, CA	165 of 166	51.32 pCi/L	510
Strawberry Fields Mobile Home Park	Plant City, FL	23 of 23	50.27 pCi/L	250
Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park LLC	Cloivs, CA	2 of 2	50.13 pCi/L	40
Md#07 Marina View Heights	Madera, CA	6 of 6	50.03 pCi/L	200
East Three Rivers Mutual	Three Rivers, CA	4 of 4	49.75 pCi/L	28
Molena	Molena, GA	3 of 3	45.00 pCi/L	467
Hillview Water Co-raymond	Oakhurst, CA	54 of 54	44.63 pCi/L	294
Benkelman, City of	Benkelman, NE	4 of 4	44.25 pCi/L	600
Md#06 Lake Shore Park	Madera, CA	10 of 10	44.13 pCi/L	130
Pecan Grove Mobile Home Park	San Antonio, TX	16 of 16	42.13 pCi/L	81
Byram Hmwnrs Association Water	Phillipsburg, NJ	10 of 11	41.96 pCi/L	400
White Plains	White Plains, GA	16 of 21	41.83 pCi/L	398
Dial Water System	Oxford, GA	2 of 2	39.50 pCi/L	621
Buttonwillow County Water District	Buttonwillow, CA	4 of 4	39.20 pCi/L	1,266
Csa 70-f Morongo	Victorville, CA	58 of 58	38.33 pCi/L	450
Mitchells Camp Family Association	Palo Verde, CA	2 of 2	36.95 pCi/L	175
Daggett Community Services District	Daggett, CA	6 of 6	35.55 pCi/L	795
Knoll Enterprises	Ludlow, CA	21 of 21	35.13 pCi/L	500
Rosamond Mobilehome Park	Tustin, CA	24 of 24	34.96 pCi/L	175
Sheridan Lake Water Company	Sheridan Lake, CO	4 of 4	34.84 pCi/L	80
Rainbird Valley Mutual Water Company	Weldon, CA	38 of 38	34.21 pCi/L	188
175 Estates	Moultonborough, NH	1 of 1	34.17 pCi/L	110
Queen's Inn By The River	Oakhurst, CA	5 of 9	34.11 pCi/L	50
Poland Place Condo Association	Poland, ME	10 of 17	33.89 pCi/L	35
Merino, Town of	Fort Collins, CO	7 of 7	33.02 pCi/L	235
Azzie Manor Hfa	Petersburg, VA	2 of 2	32.96 pCi/L	39
Rocky Ford Water Company Inc.	Manhattan, KS	5 of 5	32.81 pCi/L	52
River Bluff Subdivision	Watkinsville, GA	14 of 14	32.44 pCi/L	101
Valley Estates Water & Sewer Association	Fairview, NM	25 of 25	31.44 pCi/L	185
Antelope Peak Domestic Water Improvement District	Chandler, AZ	37 of 39	31.34 pCi/L	150
Santa Cruz Water Association	Santa Cruz, NM	60 of 60	31.32 pCi/L	420
Eagles Nest Estates	Chadron, NE	3 of 3	31.23 pCi/L	52
East Ridge Mobile Home Park	Waldoboro, ME	6 of 6	30.83 pCi/L	100
Guatay Mutual Benefit Corporation	Guatay, CA	32 of 32	30.71 pCi/L	100
Rio Brazos Water System	Choctaw, TX	24 of 24	30.32 pCi/L	108
Terrytown, City of	Gering, NE	1 of 1	30.00 pCi/L	2,144
Grubs Water Supply	Justiceburg, TX	21 of 21	29.88 pCi/L	350
Beverly, City of	Beverly, KS	14 of 14	29.56 pCi/L	159
Sun Leisure Estates Utilities Company	Yuma, AZ	20 of 20	29.21 pCi/L	143
Md#42 Still Meadow	Madera, CA	7 of 7	29.18 pCi/L	100

* This water utility supplies finished drinking water to at least one other water utility. The purchasing utility is not required to test for or report Uranium, but it likely has the contaminant in its water supply.

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
City of Scottsbluff*	Scottsbluff, NE	18 of 18	23.42 pCi/L	15,030
Warrington Twp Water&sew Dept	Warrington, PA	25 of 25	20.34 pCi/L	18,400
City of Sanger	Sanger, CA	1 of 1	19.00 pCi/L	25,664
City of Lexington	Lexington, NE	14 of 14	16.44 pCi/L	10,230
Midvale City Water System	West Valley, UT	17 of 17	15.52 pCi/L	33,000
City of North Platte*	North Platte, NE	9 of 9	15.39 pCi/L	25,000
City of Grand Island*	Grand Island, NE	22 of 22	15.20 pCi/L	51,440
White City WID	Salt Lake City, UT	5 of 5	13.63 pCi/L	15,800
Mission Springs WD	Desert Hot Springs, CA	196 of 197	12.73 pCi/L	34,626
Carson City Public Works*	Carson City, NV	841 of 843	12.71 pCi/L	56,000
City of Garden City*	Garden City, KS	7 of 7	12.63 pCi/L	27,004
Centerville City Water System	Centerville, UT	9 of 9	12.50 pCi/L	16,000
Desert Water Agency	Palm Springs, CA	49 of 49	11.94 pCi/L	83,710
Murray City Water System*	Magna, UT	7 of 7	11.77 pCi/L	36,000
Meridian Water Department	Meridian, ID	67 of 77	11.64 pCi/L	98,300
Twentynine Palms Water District	Twentynine Palms, CA	40 of 40	11.58 pCi/L	18,600
City of Hereford	Hereford, TX	14 of 14	11.42 pCi/L	15,370
South Adams County Water and Sanitation District	Commerce City, CO	18 of 18	11.05 pCi/L	51,465
Dona Ana MDWCA	Dona Ana, NM	9 of 9	10.87 pCi/L	11,214
City of Dodge City	Dodge City, KS	2 of 2	10.80 pCi/L	28,117
Farmington City Water System	Ogden, UT	3 of 3	10.52 pCi/L	21,500
City of Midland	Midland, TX	2 of 2	9.88 pCi/L	132,950
Espanola Water System*	Espanola, NM	11 of 11	9.81 pCi/L	10,495
City of Liberal	Liberal, KS	1 of 1	9.80 pCi/L	21,012
City of Kearney	Kearney, NE	21 of 21	9.79 pCi/L	30,919
Global Water - Santa Cruz Water Company	Maricopa, AZ	90 of 92	9.72 pCi/L	17,005
East Pasadena Water Company	Pasadena, CA	12 of 12	9.60 pCi/L	10,978
City of Corcoran	Corcoran, CA	1 of 1	9.20 pCi/L	24,813
City of Hastings*	Hastings, NE	20 of 20	9.14 pCi/L	25,224
City of Madera	Madera, CA	1 of 1	9.10 pCi/L	63,105
City of Ceres	Ceres, CA	213 of 213	9.02 pCi/L	42,666
City of Adelanto	Adelanto, CA	7 of 8	8.98 pCi/L	31,765
Northwest Park MUD	Houston, TX	6 of 6	8.86 pCi/L	17,406
Golden State Water Company - West Orange	Anaheim, CA	22 of 22	8.62 pCi/L	114,016
Riverside Highland Water Company	Grand Terrace, CA	8 of 8	8.61 pCi/L	14,500
Sandy City Water System*	Sandy, UT	25 of 25	8.56 pCi/L	99,750
Burbank Water Department	Burbank, CA	1 of 1	8.40 pCi/L	105,543
City of Kuna	Kuna, ID	20 of 22	8.38 pCi/L	19,700
Sunny Slope Water Company	Pasadena, CA	5 of 6	8.32 pCi/L	32,427
City of Modesto	Modesto, CA	1772 of 1,840	8.17 pCi/L	212,000
City of Garden Grove	Garden Grove, CA	27 of 27	8.14 pCi/L	170,883
Mustang	Mustang, OK	2 of 2	8.07 pCi/L	15,435
Ventura Water Department	Ventura, CA	39 of 39	7.86 pCi/L	112,677
City of Riverside*	Riverside, CA	311 of 311	7.83 pCi/L	303,871
Guymon	Guymon, OK	10 of 10	7.83 pCi/L	11,442
West Kern Water District	Taft, CA	20 of 21	7.81 pCi/L	21,181
Waterpro Inc	Lehi, UT	1 of 1	7.77 pCi/L	28,000
California Water Service Company - Hermosa / Redondo Beach	San Jose, CA	7 of 9	7.75 pCi/L	95,605
South Orange Water Department	South Orange, NJ	1 of 1	7.66 pCi/L	16,964
Calif State Polytechnical Univ - Pomona	Pomona, CA	2 of 2	7.53 pCi/L	24,880