Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Ferozepur District of Punjab (India) and the Corresponding Risk Factors

Abstract

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) has been used to measure the uranium content of the ground water samples of Ferozepur district of Malwa belt of Punjab (India). Out of total 390 habitations surveyed in Ferozepur district, 139 are having more than 30 ppb of uranium (WHO safe limit for drinking water), out of which 30 have been selected with U content > 80 ppb (60 ppb is the safe limit fixed by AERB for India) for the present investigation. The aim of this study is to investigate the uranium content of the ground water in the Ferozepur district of Malwa belt of Punjab and to assess the risk factors (excess cancer risk, LADD and hazard quotient) due to the ingestion of uranium by local population. The uranium content of the water samples of the villages under investigation varies from 80.30–331.42 ppb (μgl-1) with an average value of 106.623 ppb (μgl-1). The excess cancer risk varies from 2.27–9.39×10-4 and hazard quotient varies from 1.03 to 4.23, respectively. The LADD varies from 4.65–19.18 (μg kg−1 day−1).

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

Cite this Article
Hardev Singh Virk. Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Ferozepur District of Punjab (India) and the Corresponding Risk Factors. Research & Reviews: Journal of Oncology and Hematology. 2017; 6(3): 18–24p.