PUROLITE® A300E TACKLES URANIUM CONTAMINATION FOR A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INDIAN RESERVATION.

Uranium is a common naturally occurring and radioactive substance, but can negatively impact human health when it is present in drinking water sources.

A problem of contamination was discovered in 2007 for a plot of land around San Diego that is home to both a Native sovereign nation as well as a resort and casino. The water treatment system serving the community is owned and operated by the tribe, and also services the resort area. In the system, water from three existing wells combines together and has an average uranium concentration > 40 µg/L, exceeding the MCL of 30 µg/L enforced by the U.S. EPA.

At the time, an engineering team partnered with a full-service water technologies services company to provide a turnkey solution that would also treat high levels of iron and manganese.

The system was recently in need of an upgrade. Because of Purolite’s reputation handling contamination in other Native communities, we were called in to help. Purolite A300E resin was chosen for its proven performance removing uranium as well as other undesirable minerals in water, and the plant now meets MCL levels.