Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Fazilka District of Punjab (India) for the Assessment of Excess Cancer Risk

Abstract

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) has been used to measure the uranium content of ground water samples of Patiala district of Punjab (India). Out of total 810 habitations covered under this survey, 94 were having uranium content equal or more than 30 ppb (safe limit of the World Health Organization). The aim of this study was to investigate the uranium content of groundwater in the Patiala district of Punjab and to assess the radiological and chemical risk due to the uranium present in water through ingestion. The uranium content of water samples of the 50 villages under investigation varied from 38.00 to 267.00 ppb (μgl -1 ) with an average value of 68.70 ppb (μgl -1 ). The excess cancer risk varied from 1.08 ×10 -4 to 7.56×10 -4 with an average value of 1.95×10 -4 and hazard quotient varied from 0.49 to 3.41 with an average value of 0.88, respectively. The Lifetime Average Daily Dose (LADD) varied from 2.20 to 15.4 5μgkg −1 day −1 with an average value of 3.97 μgkg −1 day −1 . Keywords: Uranium content, radiological risk, chemical risk, cancer risk Cite this Article Virk HS. Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwater of Patiala District of Punjab (India) for the Assessment of Excess Cancer Risk. Research & Reviews: Journal of Oncology and Hematology. 2019; 8(2): 13–19p. Keywords: Uranium content, radiological risk, chemical risk, cancer risk