Selenium Contamination of Groundwater of Doaba Belt of Punjab (India)

Abstract

Punjab is facing a crisis situation due to high levels of uranium, arsenic and selenium in underground water table of Punjab. Doaba belt of Punjab, namely, Jallandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur districts have high selenium contents in groundwater. Selenium Acceptable limit (AL) for groundwater is fixed at 0.01 mg/l (ppm) by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). In this report, groundwater quality data pertaining to selenium in the Doaba belt is reported. The highest value of selenium content of 0.082 mg/l (ppm) is reported in the water drawn from a handpump in the village Nangal Naraingarh of Kapurthala district. However, the highest number of villages (102) with selenium contamination of groundwater above the AL falls in the Jallandhar district. The possible health hazard effects of selenium are reported on the basis of studies carried out in the USA, China and India.

Keywords: Selenium, acceptable limit (AL), Doaba belt of Punjab, health hazards of Selenium

Cite this Article

Virk HS. Selenium Contamination of Groundwater of Doaba Belt of Punjab, India. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology. 2019; 9(1):