WHO: Ground Water contaminated with Uranium in India above 30 micro-gram per litre

On March 16, 2020, the Minister of State for Jal Shakti Shri Rattan Lal Kataria announced in the parliament that ground water is contaminated with Uranium at 30 micro-grams per litre in the country.

Highlights

According to the ministry, the World Health Organization has quoted that the ground water in localized areas of certain states and union territories have been contaminated with Uranium. The prevalence of Uranium is above 30 micro-grams per litre.

The Organization also quoted that the states such as Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir have occurrence of Uranium in ground water.

Permissible limits

The Bureau of Indian Standards has set the maximum permissible limit of Uranium in drinking water as 0.03 mg per litre.

Uranium ill effects

Intake of large amount of Uranium causes kidney problems.

Uranium in Environment

Uranium is rare. It is naturally spread in the Indian environment. It derives from soil, rocks and gets dissolved in water.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2020