Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Uranium

Meriden Water Division

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.

 

15

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

2

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018N/A00N/A
2019ND10ND
2020N/A00N/A
20210.15 pCi/L71ND - 1.07 pCi/L
2022N/A00N/A
20230.17 pCi/L71ND - 1.21 pCi/L

pCi/L = picocuries per liter

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

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

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2019-06-19CD38018ND
2021-06-14CI54534ND
2021-06-14CI54535ND
2021-06-14CI54536ND
2021-06-23CI60845ND
2021-06-23CI60846ND
2021-06-23CI608471.07 pCi/L
2021-08-25CJ13497ND
2023-01-30CN32221ND
2023-03-08CN55432ND
2023-03-13CN58726ND
2023-03-15CN60225ND
2023-03-15CN60226ND
2023-03-22CN65580ND
2023-07-28CO614731.21 pCi/L