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A new study has found that community water systems across the country have unsafe levels of uranium. Researchers from Columbia University analyzed Environmental Protection Agency compliance data from the 37,000 public water systems to check for the presence of ten different metals that the agency regulates, including arsenic, barium, mercury, and uranium.
Many of the metals, including uranium, are naturally found in the environment, and low-level exposure is harmless. However, exposure to higher levels can cause serious health issues such as heart, liver, and lung damage.
While most of the samples the researchers analyzed contained levels of the metals below EPA standards, they found that two-thirds of public drinking water contained detectable levels of uranium. Of those samples, 2.1% had levels higher than the EPA limit.
An estimated 90% of Americans get their drinking water from community water systems.
The researchers said that the highest levels of uranium were found in counties in the Midwest and South.
They said that more research needs to be done to determine the relationship between the high levels of uranium and any potential impacts on public health.
"Despite relatively frequent detections and relatively high concentrations compared with other metals in our study, uranium has been underappreciated in the literature as a public drinking water contaminant of concern," the researchers wrote.
The researchers created an interactive map that allows you to view their results.