AMRITSAR, Punjab, India — Detection of high uranium content in drinking water within the Amritsar district has triggered the demand for further research to know the cause of the contamination of the groundwater, according to a news release provided by The Times of India.
Jaspal Singh, associate professor in the Department of Physics at Guru Nanak Dev University, reported that a recent study conducted by the department revealed only 55 out of 142 water samples from Amritsar were found to have uranium concentrations within safe limits, stated the release.
"As many as 87 samples had more uranium than is considered safe, [and] 19 samples had high uranium content of more than 60 micrograms per liter while 58 samples had uranium content of more than 30 micrograms per liter,” said Singh in the release.
The release reported that the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) of India and Environmental Protection Agency states that “the permissible limit of uranium is 30 and 60 micrograms per liter,” however the World Health Organization (WHO) revised its limit from 15 to 30 micrograms per liter.
You can find the release here.
