The distribution of groundwater uranium in Chintamani village, Karnataka, India.

BACKGROUND

Chintamani village, Chikkaballapura district, Karnataka, India was found to possess high aquifer uranium concentrations. Geologically, Chintamani village is located on bedrock that is rich in elements like potassium (K) that naturally contain high levels of radioactive elements, such as uranium and thorium, due to the presence of alkali-feldspar granites and gneisses. Aquifer depletion has caused the concentration of these elements in groundwater to increase over time, posing a potential health hazard to the residents of Chintamani village.

METHODS

Here, we report the sampling of groundwater from 12 borewells located in Chintamani village in between the period of August 2024 to December 2024. We observed groundwater uranium concentrations of 0.018 ppm to 8.64 ppm. Data for borewell depth, the quantity of total dissolved solids (TDS), and the elemental composition of TDS is also reported. We observed a statistically significant spatial distribution of uranium concentrations in Chintamani village. Borewells possessing the highest observed concentrations of uranium were clustered towards the northwestern region of the village.

CONCLUSIONS

This dataset is expected to serve as a resource for guiding potential remediation efforts in these locations.