Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Fazilka District of Punjab (India) for the Assessment of Excess Cancer Risk

Abstract

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) has been used to measure the uranium content of the ground water samples of Fazilka district of Malwa belt of Punjab (India). Out of total 217 habitations having more than 60 ppb of uranium (safe limit of AERB for India), 30 have been selected for the present investigation. The aim of this study is to investigate the uranium content of the ground water in the Malwa belt of Fazilka district of Punjab and to assess the radiological and chemical risk due to the uranium present through ingestion. The uranium content of the water samples of the studied villages varies from 121.95–366.00 ppb (μgl^-1) with an average value of 198.198 ppb (μgl^-1). The excess cancer risk varies from 3.45–10.37×10^-4 and hazard quotient varies from 1.56 to 4.67, respectively. The LADD varies from 7.06–21.18 (μg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹).

Keywords: Uranium content, radiological risk, chemical risk, cancer risk

Cite this Article

Hardev Singh Virk. Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Fazilka District of Punjab (India) for the Assessment of Excess Cancer Risk. Research & Reviews: Journal of Oncology and Hematology. 2017; 6(2): 21–26p.