Amritsar: ‘15% water samples high in uranium’

Around 15% of potable water samples tested in Amritsar and Muktsar in 2014 were found to have been contaminated with more than the recommended safe concentration of uranium, a carcinogenic element, the consumption of which is known to lead to cancer, liver diseases and kidney malfunction in humans, a Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) study has documented.

Around 15% of potable water samples tested in Amritsar and Muktsar in 2014 were found to have been contaminated with more than the recommended safe concentration of uranium, a carcinogenic element, the consumption of which is known to lead to cancer, liver diseases and kidney malfunction in humans, a Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) study has documented.

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GNDU associate professor Dr Jaspal Singh has claimed that during the study in 2014, samples were taken around the year. Of 142 samples tested, 19 were found to have uranium content more than the recommended 60 microgram per litre by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India) (AERB). Another 58 samples contained were found to have uranium concentration at above 30 microgram per litre, the safe standard recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the US. The samples, taken from the urban and rural areas of Amritsar and Muktsar, were tested at labs in the varsity with one of the samples even being found to have an alarmingly high uranium content.