Uranium ...a new disaster in drinking water in India

Recent study published by Environment ,Science and technology letters has found over 30 micro-gram per liter of heavy metals in parts of northeast ,south and southeast parts of India which includes Uranium
Scientists have found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from aquifers across 16 states in India, much above the WHO provisional standard for the country
World health organisation has prescribed 30 mgl and Automic energy regulatory board (AERB) has set the figure to be 60 mgl as safe to drink ,where as in 2015 Bangalore study showed up level of over 2000 mgl in some parts of India

CAUSES:

1. The cause of water contamination in the north west region like Rajesthan and Gujrat is due to alluvial aquifers. And in the south region like Andhra-Pradesh and Telangana are due to Uranium rich rocks like granite.
2. Though the cause of this groundwater contamination is natural, what makes it worse is the over extraction of ground water which cause the water table to decline, it further induces oxidation conditions that, in turn, enhance uranium enrichment in the shallow groundwater that remains.

EFFECTS:
It effects the kidney and can cause chronic kidney disorder. India is the world’s largest user of groundwater,India is already a water scarce country so this revelation will further add to the water woes suffered by India.Uranium in drinking water raises concerns not because of radioactivity but mainly because of its chemical toxicity.

Ways to address the issue:-

There is a need for revision of the current water quality monitoring program in India, evaluation of human health risks in areas of high uranium prevalence, development of adequate remediation technologies and above all, implementation of preventive management practices to address this problem.