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World Health Organization Increases Its Drinking-Water Guideline for Uranium

Seth H. Frisbie, Ph.D. / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Norwich University, Northfield, VT, USA
Erika J. Mitchell, Ph.D. / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Norwich University, Northfield, VT, USA
Bibudhendra Sarkar, Ph.D. / Department of Molecular Structure and Function, The Research Institute of The Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Copyrighted Article Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/em/c3em00381g#!divAbstract

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Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) released the fourth edition of Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality in July, 2011. In this edition, the drinking-water guideline for uranium (U) was increased to 30 μg/L despite the conclusion that "deriving a guideline value for uranium in drinking-water is complex, because the data [from exposures to humans] do not provide a clear no-effect concentration" and "Although some minor biochemical changes associated with kidney function have been reported to be correlated with uranium exposure at concentrations below 30 μg/l, these findings are not consistent between studies" (WHO, Uranium in Drinking-water, Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, Available: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/uranium_forcomment_20110211_en.pdf [accessed 13 October 2011], 2011.). This paper reviews the WHO drinking-water guideline for U, from its introduction as a 2 μg/L health-based guideline in 1998 through its increase to a 30 μg/L health-based guideline in 2011. The current 30 μg/L WHO health-based drinking-water guideline was calculated using a "no-effect group" with "no evidence of renal damage [in humans] from 10 renal toxicity indicators". However, this nominal "no-effect group" was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and glucose excretion in urine. In addition, the current 30 μg/L guideline may not protect children, people with predispositions to hypertension or osteoporosis, pre-existing chronic kidney disease, and anyone with a long exposure. The toxic effects of U in drinking water on laboratory animals and humans justify a re-evaluation by the WHO of its decision to increase its U drinking-water guideline.

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Last updated November 26, 2013
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