Human activities and infrastructure can often compromise water quality. Nuclear and isotope techniques can help determine sources of pollution, offering insights into their transport patterns and fate. The Agency also works to keep water clean and remediate polluted water through irradiation techniques.
NITRATE POLLUTION IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH
water pollution level for nitrate 0,0-0,9 0,9-2,0 2,0 > 10
water makes up 60% of the weight of the human body
60% 2 BILLION people drink from a source that is contaminated with faeces
3 MILLION die each year from water pollution (mostly under 5 years old)
NO - x ISOTOPE TRACERS PROVIDE NO3 UNIQUE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LOCAL WATER CYCLE
age dating: vulnerability origin/sources flow paths to pollution of water and and transport pollutants + NH4
- NO3
sustainability: interactions and recharge rates mixing between natural and man-made sources and paths of nitrogen and mechanisms water bodies
Most water sources can be polluted as a result of human activities, threatening water supply systems, health, local ecosystems and economic development. A better assessment of the different pollution sources and their movement in the local water cycle is required to adopt preventive or corrective measures.
Isotope techniques can provide unique information to assess major water quality issues derived from agricultural, mining and industrial activities. Major new efforts are focusing on understanding pollution causes, natural or man-made, and their effects on critical water bodies. The Agency works with stable isotopes, age indicators and other geochemical tools to better assess groundwater flow into lakes, rivers, and the ocean, and to better understand sources and transport pathways of contaminants.