Uranium Contamination of Water

A study, published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, has found over 30 micrograms per litre (mcg/l) of the heavy metal in parts of northwestern, southern and southeastern India.

Findings of the Study

• The Environmental Science paper identified two types of terrains with heavy contamination. In Rajasthan and other northwestern regions, uranium occurs mostly in alluvial aquifers; while in southern regions such as Telangana, crystalline rocks such as granite seem to be the source.
• Water in more than one-third of the 324 wells they sampled has uranium in much higher quantities than the World Health Organization’s provisional standard of 30 ....