Uranium is a naturally occurring element found ubiquitously in rock, soil, and water. It is often mined and processed because a certain type of uranium is useful in making fuel for nuclear power plants. This process creates what is called enriched uranium.

While uranium is present in low levels in all rock, soil, and water, there are ways people can become exposed to it at high levels. One of these ways is through living near facilities that mine, process, or manufacture enriched uranium. Another way is through oil and gas production. When bedrock is fractured to extract the oil and gas inside, chemicals like uranium that are embedded in the bedrock can be released into the resulting fluid. This fluid – which is often called flowback, wastewater, produced water, or brine – can then enter the surrounding soil, surface water, or groundwater. In some places, this brine is used as a de-icer and is deliberately put on roads and sidewalks in icy winter conditions. This means people can be exposed to uranium in both unintentional and intentional ways.

If uranium enters groundwater, people in surrounding areas can be exposed to it in their drinking water. When uranium is present in high concentrations in the soil, vegetables – especially root vegetables like potatoes and turnips – absorb this uranium, and people can be exposed by eating these vegetables.

Uranium is dangerous to human health because it is radioactive, which means it is unstable. Radioactive elements will emit energy or radiation and convert into another element. This radiation can cause cell death, organ failure, and cancer. Because of this radiation, uranium exposure causes broken bones and kidney damage. The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that uranium probably causes cancer in humans. In studies of laboratory animals, it also caused lung damage, fertility problems, and birth defects. Effects of uranium exposure on children may be more severe because their bodies are growing.

In addition to these direct effects of uranium exposure, when uranium emits radiation it is converted into an element called radium, which is also harmful to human health. Radium exposure can cause bone, blood, liver, and breast cancer. When radium emits radiation it is converted into an element called radon, which is also dangerous. These direct and indirect effects make uranium very dangerous, and processes that can release it from the environment must be more tightly monitored and controlled to protect human health.

For more information, CHEJ has previously written about fracking, radiation risks from fracking, the presence of radium in brine, and radon.