Uranium and other contaminants in hair from the parents of children with congenital anomalies in Fallujah, Iraq

Table 7 Uranium concentrations, beta gamma dose rate at 30 cm (μGyh^-1) and activity ratios (where measured) in surface soil river sediment and water samples (μgL^-1) from Fallujah, Iraq

*Sample*	^a *Beta/gamma*	^b *Uranium mgkg* ^-1	^c *U238/U235*
Soil 1	150	0.857, 0.685, 1.033	129
Soil 2	120	0.164, 0.231, 0.252	132
Soil 3	160	0.688, 0.759, 0.637	129
Soil 4	190	0.725, 0.603, 0.867	130
Soil 5	220	0.119, 0.738, 0.907	118
Soil 6	130	1.44, 1.51, 1.51	129
BP Horizon Oil		0.070, 0.073, 0.073	138
Sediment R. Euphrates		1.05 mgkg^-1	NA
Well water		2.72 μgL^-1	NA
River water		2.24 μgL^-1	NA
Tap water		2.28 μgL^-1	NA

Three separate aliquots were taken from each soil sample and results are shown. Limit of Detection was 0.002 mgkg^-1. As a check on the ion exchange method, the Uranium atom ratio from the deep oil from the BP Horizon Macondo oil spill was run with the Fallujah soil samples.
^a nGyh^-1; ^b mean of three runs is tabulated for each of three aliquots; LOD, U-235 = 0.0007; ^c Natural ratio is 137.88; these measurements are derived from counts using the ion-exchange extracted Uranium solutions. 95% CI limits for Natural Uranium Ratio are 132.1 < Ratio < 144.1, Values below 132.1 are thus enriched, above 144.1 depleted with p < 0.05. NA = not assessed.

ISSN: 1752-1505