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 andindustrial 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.

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.

WATER QUALITY AND POLLUTION

NH4

NO3

NO3

NOx-

-

+

NITRATE POLLUTION IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH

ISOTOPE TRACERS PROVIDEUNIQUE INFORMATION ABOUT

THE LOCAL WATER CYCLE

60%

water makes up 60% of the weight of the human body

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)

water pollution level for nitrate

0,0-0,9 0,9-2,0 2,0 > 10

age dating: flow paths

and transport

origin/sources of water and

pollutants

sustainability: recharge rates and mechanisms

vulnerability to pollution

interactions and mixing between

water bodiesnatural and man-made sources and paths of nitrogen