RESUMO
Trace amounts of uranium along with its decay products are found in varying levels in natural soil, rocks, water and air. They are a matter of significant concern due to their carcinogenic nature. In the present work, the distribution of U and 210Po in groundwater of Kodagu District, Karnataka, India, was studied. The concentration of total U in groundwater samples was estimated using LASER and LED fluorimeter, and the activity of 210Po in groundwater was studied using electrochemical deposition followed by alpha counting method. The concentration of U and 210Po varied from 0.4 to 8.8 µgl-1 and 0.47 to 4.35 mBql-1, respectively. The ingestion dose due to U and 210Po in groundwater varied from 0.33 to 7.17 and 0.41 to 3.81 µSv y-1, respectively. The estimated U activity was found to be well below the standard safe limits of 30 µgl-1 in drinking water, as recommended by WHO and USEPA. The 210Po activity was low compared with the recommended 100 mBql-1 standard of WHO.