Gomti water can cause Alzheimer’s, says study
It contains high quantity of aluminium that is above limits recommended by the WHO
Gomti water is unsafe for drinking and can cause Alzheimer’s disease. The water contains high quantity of aluminium that is above the limits recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), highlights a recent study by Lucknow University’s department of geology.
“The spatial distribution of dissolved aluminium concentrations in the groundwater of Lucknow area shows that high aluminum values are distributed in an isolated concentric pattern. The seasonal variation of this concentration in Gomti water shows that during monsoon, there is nearly 200 times increase in dissolved aluminium concentration compared to other seasons. The average value for Gomti river is about 165 times higher than the world average value of aluminium in river water,” said Prof Munendra Singh, faculty, department of geology, LU who did the study.
A total of 36 river water samples were collected from the mid-channel of Gomti river at Chandwak, at intervals of 10 days for one year, covering all the seasons - between June 2009 and May 2010, said Singh.
Chandwak is located at the distal end of the Gomti, before it meets the Ganga. Thus, the water samples at Chandwak give an average of the entire Gomti river basin. Hundred groundwater samples were also collected from India mark-II handpumps in Lucknow during May-June 2010 and tested later. The report was finalised and released in 2015.
Environment expert VK Joshi said, “The reports are alarming. Metallic pollution is comparatively low in Ganga. However, the bacterial pollution in the river is fairly high. In Gomti, the metallic contents are high and this calls for immediate concern.”
Joshi said the absence of big fish and turtles in the rivers have led to increase in pollution. The discharge of industrial and municipal waste is a major reason for rising pollution in the rivers, he added.
He also recommended a River Research Bureau for the state that could conduct specialised studies and give recommendations to the government to act on them.
Aluminium, a potent neurotoxicant, is associated with agerelated neurodegenerative disorders (including Alzheimer’s disease) in humans. Future studies should emphasise the possible role of high dissolved aluminum concentration in the Gomti river basin and its effect on human health of this region, said Singh.