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WaterQualityLens

Radionuclide

4006

Uranium

Increased cancer risk and kidney toxicity with long-term exposure (MCLG = 0).

Maximum contaminant level
30 µg/L
Legal MCL
Enforceable federal limit
Health goal
0.0 µg/L
Health goal (MCLG)
No safe exposure level
Category
Radionuclide
Category
Reporting unit
µg/L
Reporting unit

Regulatory basis

How Uranium is regulated

What the enforceable limit actually obliges a utility to do, and how it differs from the health-based goal it is measured against.

Two different numbers govern Uranium, and they are not interchangeable. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is 30 µg/L — the enforceable ceiling. A system reporting above it is in violation and owes its customers notification and corrective action. The health goal (MCLG) is 0 and is not enforceable.

The health goal is zero. EPA sets a goal of zero when it has not identified a level at which the contaminant is known or expected to be free of the effects the standard was written to address. Zero is not attainable as an enforceable standard with available treatment technology and cost, so the MCL was set at 30 µg/L instead — the level EPA judged feasible. The practical consequence: a utility can report Uranium anywhere between zero and 30 µg/L and be fully compliant while still sitting above the health goal. “No violation” and “at the goal” are different statements about the same water.

Results are reported in µg/L. A laboratory result and the limits above are only comparable when both are expressed in that same unit — a value in a different unit will be off by orders of magnitude. WaterQualityLens groups Uranium under Radionuclide for navigation; the grouping is ours, the limits are the regulator’s.

The record for Uranium

Enforceable limit (MCL)
30 µg/L
Health goal (MCLG)
0
Reporting unit
µg/L
Category
Radionuclide
Contaminant code
4006

Limits as published by EPA and state primacy agencies. This page reports regulatory and certification records; it does not assess anyone’s exposure and makes no health prediction.

Certification scope

Which certifications actually remove Uranium

Only NSF/ANSI 53, 58 and 401 are health-contaminant standards. A product certified only to Standard 42 (aesthetics) or 372 (lead-free materials) has not been verified to reduce Uranium, however the box is worded.

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Counts — health standard

    Health effects: lead, VOCs, cysts, chromium, and (post-P473) PFAS reduction.

    No filter in our registry holds a verified NSF/ANSI 53 claim for Uranium. That means we hold no certification record — not that the standard could never cover it.

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Counts — health standard

    Reverse osmosis: dissolved inorganics, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and total PFAS.

    2 filters in our registry hold an independently verified NSF/ANSI 58 claim for Uranium, listed below.

  • NSF/ANSI 401

    Counts — health standard

    Emerging/incidental compounds: pharmaceuticals and select trace contaminants.

    No filter in our registry holds a verified NSF/ANSI 401 claim for Uranium. That means we hold no certification record — not that the standard could never cover it.

  • NSF/ANSI 42

    Does not count — not a health standard

    Aesthetic effects: chlorine, taste, odor, particulates. No health-contaminant protection.

    No registry product lists Uranium under NSF/ANSI 42. It would not count as verification of Uranium reduction in any case.

  • NSF/ANSI 372

    Does not count — not a health standard

    Lead-free materials (manufacturing content only). Not a water-treatment claim.

    No registry product lists Uranium under NSF/ANSI 372. It would not count as verification of Uranium reduction in any case.

Counts are of active products in the WaterQualityLens filter registry holding a verified claim for contaminant code 4006 under that standard, as recorded by the certifying body (NSF, WQA, or IAPMO). Certification is granted per contaminant, not per product: a filter certified to Standard 53 for one contaminant is not thereby certified for Uranium.

Certified reduction · commercial placements

Filters verified to reduce Uranium

These filters hold an independent NSF/ANSI health certification (Standard 53, 58, or 401) specifically for Uranium. Certification against a health standard means an accredited lab verified the filter reduces this contaminant — a materials-only claim such as NSF 42 or 372 does not.

  • Frizzlife

    M800 Under-Sink Reverse Osmosis

    Verified Partner
    FZ-M800Under-sink RO$399
    NSF/ANSI 58

    Certified by NSF

    View at retailer
  • Waterdrop

    G3P800 Under-Sink RO

    Verified Partner
    WD-G3P800Under-sink RO$549
    NSF/ANSI 58

    Certified by NSF

    View at retailer

Hardware links are affiliate placements marked “Verified Partner.” Products appear here solely because they hold an independently verified NSF/ANSI health certification for Uranium; commercial arrangements never affect this list.