Uranium is in everything from rocks to soil and plants to water. It occurs mostly in low levels and is not considered a public health risk. But too much of the radioactive element is a concern even when it's from a natural source, as it is in several water supplies in Kansas, said Don Whittemore, Kansas Geological Survey geochemist. In 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a drinking-water standard for uranium at a maximum contamination level (MCL) of 30 parts per billion and gave public water providers until December 2007 to complete monitoring. Not all Kansas communities were able to meet the standard.
Because long-term exposure to high levels of uranium may cause kidney damage and increase the risk of cancer, the MCL for uranium is a primary standard, meaning it was enacted to protect public health and is legally enforceable. Natural uranium's capacity to be toxic, or poisonous, not its weak radioactivity, is what raises health concerns.
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