The United Nations has recognised clean water as an essential human right. And yet, a large part of the global population must live with compromised water every day. This can mean that drinking water is unsuitable or that surface water sources are compromised – in other words, polluted rivers, lakes and oceans. This affects not just humans, but all forms of life.
Water sources can be polluted by heavy metals, complex organic compounds such as petroleum by-products or pharmaceuticals, radioactive isotopes and trace elements. The movement of these pollutants through aquatic systems depends on how water-soluble they are and how much they are able to combine with fine particles (also known as “scavenging”). In this way, some pollutants can travel great distances from their source while others are quickly bound.
Tremendous efforts are underway to improve critical water bodies. Progress has been made. The IAEA uses nuclear and isotopic tools to study the movement of pollutants in water and to measure water quality. It works with stable isotopes and radiotracers to study groundwater flow into lakes, rivers or the ocean and to better understand transport pathways of contaminants. This helps Member States avoid and mitigate pollution incidents.
The Agency also provides training on analytical techniques to improve their accuracy and detection levels. This allows for governments and decision-makers to be confident that the data on water quality they receive is reliable.