Uranium content in drinking water limescale and children's hair in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia.

Analysis of limescales, collected from the walls of kitchenware used to boil drinking water, were used as a surrogate for analysis of uranium in drinking water. Geological features of the territory mainly explained the spatial distribution of uranium concentrations in the samples. Furthermore, uranium was analysed in human hair samples from inhabitants of the region. The median concentration of U in drinking water limescale was 5.4 μg/g (range 0.01 to 61.0 μg/g), and in children's hair was 0.035 μg/g (range 0.001–0.179 μg/g). A significant correlation (R² = 0.946) was detected between U in drinking water limescale and U concentration in human hair. Concentrations of uranium in limescales and human hair indicated that the current levels of exposure are in the range of values reported worldwide and are not particularly elevated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]