Uranium In Groundwater In Bihar: A top official said the high concentration of uranium in groundwater in some districts of Bihar has alarmed officials and 100 water samples from ten districts have been sent to the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) center in Lucknow for scientific analysis.
Thakur Brahmanand Singh, Regional Director, CGWB (Middle-East Region) said that the presence of uranium in drinking water is a matter of great concern for public health.
Uranium In Groundwater In Bihar
“The water samples have been sent for isotopic uranium analysis through the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) method, which measures the isotopic ratios at reasonably high accuracy. Future action will be taken only after receiving the report,” he said. will be decided.” Press Trust of India.
Recently groundwater samples have been collected in Nalanda, Nawada, Katihar, Madhepura, Vaishali, Supaul, Aurangabad, Gaya, Saran and Jehanabad districts.
Mr Singh said, “CGWB, the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Bihar and the Geological Survey of India are jointly working to determine the amount of uranium in groundwater in the state and prepare a comprehensive action plan to deal with the situation. “
The new findings will be compared to uranium concentrations reported in previous studies in the state.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has not specified any standard for uranium in drinking water, while the World Health Organization has set drinking water standards for uranium in drinking water as 30 micrograms per litre.
During 2019-20, CGWB collected a total of 14377 groundwater samples from shallow well water sources across the country for quantification of the presence of uranium. Singh said that 634 samples from Bihar were analyzed and it was found that the heavy metal content in 11 samples was more than the limit prescribed by WHO.
District where Uranium In Groundwater found
The analysis found that the districts that had high uranium in groundwater were Saran, Bhabua, Khagaria, Madhepura, Nawada, Sheikhpura, Purnia, Kishanganj and Begusarai.
Explaining the harmful effects of the heavy metal, Bihar State Pollution Control Board chairman Ashok Kumar Ghosh told news agency PTI, “Uranium contamination in groundwater is a matter of serious concern as it is hazardous to the health of those exposed to high levels of water. May cause exposure. Bone toxicity and impaired renal function and cancer”.
He said that the board’s study also found uranium contamination in groundwater in Bihar.
“It took researchers a year and a half to come to this conclusion. Studies show that uranium is a chemical-toxic and nephrotoxic heavy metal. This chemical specifically affects the kidneys and bones,” Ghosh said.
The study noted that uranium concentrations increased mostly along the northwest-southeast band and east of the Gandak River and south of the Ganges towards Jharkhand, especially in Gopalganj Siwan, Saran, Patna, Nalanda and Nawada districts .
The study, which was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in April, 2020, was conducted by David Pola and Laura A Richards of the University of Manchester (UK), Ashok Kumar Ghosh and Arun Kumar of Mahaveer Cancer Institute Patna.