Uranium in Hot Water Tanks: A Source of Tenorm

--Original contains color plates: All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

Elevated concentrations of uranium have been detected in private drinking water wells of residents near Simpsonville, South Carolina. Elevated levels of uranium were first detected by private sampling at one home in Simpsonville in January 2001. A member of the family living in the home had developed a benign brain tumor (WYFF, 2002). During the medical diagnosis, hair samples were analyzed in an effort to determine what might be the cause of the illness. Unexpectedly, elevated levels of uranium were found in the hair sample. This in turn led to an exploration of the cause. Drinking water samples were taken and analyzed by a local geologist, with results indicating a uranium concentration around 100 times greater than the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL). A second sample was performed with similar results, and the family notified the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Upon notification (February 2001), DHEC performed sampling at this location and at the houses on either side. DHEC results from all three of these samples showed uranium concentrations above the MCL. As a result, further sampling was performed at all of the homes within a 2-mile radius of the initial location (46 total) of which 6 were found to also exceed the MCL for uranium. Following these results, another phase of sampling was begun in which an additional 28 private wells were sampled. Five of these exceeded the uranium MCL. In addition to private well sampling, all of the public drinking water wells within a seven-mile radius of the initial home were sampled, none of which exceeded the MCL.