Assessing Uranium Pollution Levels in the Rietspruit River, Far West Rand Goldfield, South Africa

Abstract

The Rietspruit is located in Gauteng Province, South Africa, within the Witwatersrand Basin. The basin is noted for its vast gold deposit. The river extends for about 60 km before joining the Vaal River. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of uranium in the Rietspruit and the factors that influenced the concentration of U at each of the sites. The source of uranium in the river is the discharge from the gold mine and the mine wastes. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used for water and sediment analysis in order to determine the concentration of U. High concentration of U was found in the river water and sediment, which is above the permissible limit of U. The water is used for irrigation of farmlands, cattle watering and for human consumption despite the high concentration of uranium in it. Ingestion of uranium is dangerous to human health. Due to the toxic nature of uranium, consumption of the water for domestic use and agriculture purpose must be discouraged.