In India, High Levels Of Uranium, Used For Nuclear Plants, In Water

Dangerously high uranium levels – three to four times the World Health Organization’s 15 microgram per litre limit and higher even than the government’s limit of 30 micrograms per litre – have been recorded in drinking water sources across at least six Chhattisgarh districts, significantly increasing the risk of cancers and pulmonary conditions, as well as skin and kidney diseases, in these areas.

In 2017 the WHO suggested uranium in drinking water should not exceed 15 micrograms per litre, but acknowledged “there are uncertainties (if) concentrations above this would be of concern”. The global health body also said some countries – like India – had doubled that permissible limit.

In June a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre study suggested even 60 micrograms per litre is safe

However, tests of drinking water samples from Chhattisgarh’s Durg, Rajnandgaon, Kanker, Bemetara, Balod, and Kawardha found uranium levels in excess of 100 micrograms per litre; one sample from a village in Balod had as much 130 micrograms per litre and another from Kanker had 106 micrograms per litre. Across the six districts the average reading was 86 to 105 micrograms of uranium per litre.

“There is no other source of water in the village… one day we came to know that research was done and some students took water from here, in which uranium was found,” Daneshwar Sinha, the village chief, said, “… after that we ran to the PHE Department and it was tested once again.”

The village has now opened a second bore, but it is unclear if the source of that water is different from the first or if uranium levels in the water from the new well are within permissible limits.