Distribution of uranium isotopes in groundwater of the UAE: environmental radioactivity assessment

Occurrence of uranium isotopes in groundwater provides a tracer technology for quality, sources, and recharge conditions. Groundwater samples collected from different aquifer types (sand dune, Quaternary clastics, ophiolite, carbonates and sabkha) in the UAE were analyzed for 238U and 235U. In addition to uranium isotopes, monitoring indicators also cover groundwater pH, temperature and TDS. The concentration of uranium isotopes (238U + 235U) range from 4 to 69,745 ng/L. The distribution of the isotopes in the groundwater of the UAE can be linked to aquifer lithological variability, distance from recharge front and seawater intrusion. In general, about 3% of the groundwater analyzed have uranium concentration above the WHO permissible limit for drinking water.