Uranium
Overview
Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive metal that erodes from rock into groundwater.
In Florida, Uranium was found in 240 community water systems serving about 668,516 people. 1 of those readings was above the federal legal limit, together serving 400 people. It was measured by 1,559 systems in all, so it was detected in 15% of the systems that tested for it.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Oak Park Mobile Home Village in Lee County, at 1395% of it.
Where it comes from: Erosion of natural deposits.
The standards
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California OEHHA PHG (2001).
Health effects the EPA associates with it: May increase the risk of cancer. Kidney damage.
The health goal is set on health alone. The legal limit is set as close to it as is technically and economically feasible, so treatment cost and available technology are written into the number a utility is measured against. A system at or under the limit is meeting the standard it is required to meet. Both numbers are shown so the distance between them is visible.
What removes it
Anion exchange or reverse osmosis. A conventional softener has some effect but is not the right tool for it. Carbon does nothing.
Treatment guidance describes the methods generally used for this contaminant. What your own tap actually carries depends on your plumbing and your service line as much as on the utility, which is what a test at the house tells you and an annual report cannot.
Where in Florida
Highest reported levels
Showing the 25 highest of 240 systems that reported Uranium.
Data Sources
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.