Radioactive Contaminants Found in Earth’s ‘Pure’ Groundwater.
Pristine groundwater is vulnerable to modern-day pollution, and once contaminated, it could stay like that for as long as thousands of years.
Groundwater is usually found 820 feet under the Earth’s surface.
Given that they are found in the deepest parts of the Earth, they are also believed to be pure.
As such, it provides drinking and irrigation water for billions of people around the world today.
Results showed that traces of rain and snow mixed with tritium are present, indicating the presence of younger water.
As noted by Tech Times, the tritium contamination, although not at an alarming level, was seen at roughly 50 percent of the groundwater.
The result has perplexed the researchers, citing that it is almost implausible to think that groundwater as old as 12,000 years could be polluted by modern-day contaminants.
The researchers write that although the mechanism is not clear, the study revealed that young groundwater may introduce other contaminants (i.e., fertilizers, pesticides, and industrial runoff from the Earth’s surface) to ancient water through leaks and holes in wells, which people use to draw groundwater.
The findings were presented at a European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria.