India's uranium risk

INDIA'S GROUNDWATER is heavily laced with uranium. Scientists of Duke University, USA, studied 324 wells in Rajasthan and Gujarat and found that one-third of them had uranium in quantities much higher than WHO's standard of 30 microgramme per litre. Analysing previous studies they found that groundwater in 61 districts across the country is highly contaminated with uranium. Most of the districts are in north-west India and Punjab. Much of the high-uranium groundwater tested had high salinity, fluoride and nitrate, which makes them unsafe for drinking. Despite this, uranium has not been listed as a contaminant by the Bureau of Indian Standards' Drinking Water Specifications. Drinking water laced with uranium can cause chronic kidney diseases and deformity of bones. Though the main source of the contamination is natural, groundwater table decline and prevalence of nitrate pollution may exacerbate the problem, the study notes.