The Presence of Uranium in Excess in Bathinda Waters Can Be One of the Reasons of High Cancer Deaths in the District

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The Presence of Uranium in Excess in Bathinda Waters can be one of

the Reasons of High Cancer Deaths in the District(Prof. Surinder Singh)*

Bathinda district, an important cotton growing belt of the state is in light since

the last few years due to the higher mortality rate in the area. Giana, Malana and !a""al

#illages of $alwandi Sabo, Bathinda district are the worst effected areas. %arious

Go#ernment and &on Go#ernment agencies such as the Public 'nalyst, Pun"ab Public

ealth and elfare, Pun"ab Pun"ab Pollution +ontrol Board heti %irasat Greenpeace,

-ndia ha#e focused their attention in the area as far as the health aspects of the general

public are concerned. $he +i#il Surgeon, Bathinda has reported an increased occurrence

of cancer cases o#er the last fi#e years. 'bout / cancer deaths ha#e been reported to

occur during the last fi#e years only in !a""al #illage and 01203 patients are still under

treatment at a +haritable ospital, Bianer (4a"asthan). $he #illagers attribute this high

occurrence of cancer riss to unhygienic li#ing conditions that pre#ail there and

underground water, which is unfit and dangerous for human consumption.

's per the report of +hief 'gricultural 5fficer, Bathinda (+i#il Surgeon Bathinda

report, 0//0) the commonly used insecticides in the #illages of Giana and !a""al are

synthetic carbonate, organophosphatic and organochlorinated groups and pesticide in use

is sulphas. $here is no history of use of the drugs that could lead to cancer amongst these

cases as reported by the +i#il Surgeon Bathinda report (0//0) and has attributed the

higher number of #arious cancer cases to the better awareness about the disease and

a#ailing of better diagnostic facilities.

Senior Most Professor, 6epartment of Physics, Guru &ana 6e# 7ni#ersity, 'mritsar

Mobile8 930:01:;; 4es8 /;3: 001// <mail8 surinder=s;91;>yahoo.co.in



$hough the awareness among the people and better diagnostic facilities may ha#e

e?plored the high mortality yet it was essential to find the actual cause. $he presence of

radioacti#e elements and hea#y metals of to?icological significance in e?cess in the

en#ironmental samples especially water could be one of the reasons for the higher

number of cancer cases in the region. Pun"ab Pollution Board has estimated some of the

to?ic hea#y metals (+r 's, Se, g,) and has reported #ery low or negligible #alues. $he

#alues of pesticides were@ also reported to be low. -n light of the abo#e facts when the

concentration of hea#y metal and the drugs is found to be low the only other possibilities

for a large number of cancer deaths in the area could be the high radioacti#ity in the

en#ironmental samples.

eeping the abo#e facts in mind the research team from the 6epartment of

Physics Guru &ana 6e# 7ni#ersity, 'mritsar eaded by a Senior Professor 6r. Surinder

Singh thought of analyAing en#ironmental samples #iA. soil, water, food stuff and the

blood and urine samples of the normal and the affected persons of the area. $he water

samples collected from the area were initially analyAed for uranium analysis using

&uclear $echniues #iA Cission $rac and Daser Clourimetery with the help of the

Bhaba 'tomic 4esearch +entre Mumbai. $o our surprise a high content of uranium was

found in most of the water samples. $hese #alues were much higher than the

recommended safe limits set by #arious -nternational <n#ironmental Protection

'gencies.

7ranium, a to?ic radioacti#e element, is found in traces in almost all types of

rocs, soils, air and water. 7ranium is soluble in aueous solutions in he?a#alent (7 EF)

form and precipitates as insoluble material in tetra#alent form (7F). $he con#ersion of

tetra#alent to he?a#alent form and #ice#ersa is through o?idation reduction process in the



suitable geological en#ironment. ' detailed to?icological profile has been published by

the 'gency for $o?ic Substances and 6isease 4egistry ('$S64 ;999) and orld ealth

5rganiAation (5 0//;). 4eports ha#e shown that the ma"or haAard from uranium is

due to its chemical to?icity rather than the radiological effect. -f inhaled or ingested

uranium acti#ity poses increased ris of lung and bone cancer. 6ue to chemical to?icity,

ingestion of uranium can cause damage to internal organs notably the idneys. $he most

serious health haAard associated with the uranium is lung cancer due to the inhalation of

uranium decay product radon. 'lthough the idney is considered to be the primary target

in both acute and chronic situations, e?perimental e#idence suggests that the respiratory

and reproducti#e system are also affected by e?posure . 7ranium grains can mo#e large

distances in air and can enter the lungs during breathing and can cause serious disease

lie cancer. $he 7 6efence committee th report (0///) HGulf %eterans -llnessI states

when uranium hits a target a fine aerosole of ceramic uranium is formed. 'bout E to

/J of the particles are smaller than ;/ microns in siAe and can be inhaled easily. $he

particle under 0.1 microns is particularly dangerous as they enter deep into the lungs.

'fter ingestion uranium rapidly appears in the blood stream and combines with

red cells in the plasma, a non2diffusible uranyl2albumin comple? is formed in euilibrium

with (750+/:F) comple?. 7ranyl compound readily combine with proteins and

nucleotides to form stable comple?es because of their high affinity for phosphate

carbo?yl, hydro?yl groups. +learance from the blood stream is also rapid and the

uranium subseuently accumulates in the idneys and seletons little is found in the

li#er. -n the seleton, which is the ma"or site of uranium accumulation the uranyl ion

replaces +a in the hydro?ylapatite comple? of bone crystal.



's a component of the natural en#ironment uranium is liely to be present as a

trace constituent in all foodstuffs. -t may become incorporated in the bul of the food or

may alternati#ely adhere to the surface of foodstuffs as particulate contamination, with

root #egetables often containing higher le#els. '$S64 (;999) cites a re#iew of oral

intae of uranium in the 7nited State with typical range of /.92;.1Kg per day in food.

Se#eral <uropean countries has reported dietary intaes of uranium between /.1 and 0Kg

per day. -n !apan the reported dietary intae is as /.12/.9Kg per day. 5n the basis of these

studies a worldwide dietary daily intae upto 1Kg (micro gram) was suggested.

$he uranium concentration determined in drining water samples belonging to 00

#illages of Bathinda 6istrict in micro gram per litre (KgL;) is as8

Mahima Sar"a ( '#erage ;:.E, 4ange ;/.E2;9.), 'blu ( '#g 03.0, 4ange 0:.92:0.;),

4amtirath !agga ( '#g 09.9, 4ange 0/.;2:3.:), alalwala ( '#g ;:.:, 4ange E.92;E.3),

Giana ( '#g 3.E, 4ange 0.3299.3), Malana ( '#g ;.E, 4ange ;.3219.E), !a""al ( '#g

:;.3, 4ange .92E:.;), $ungwali ( '#g 0:.:, 4ange E.02::.0), Bucho Mandi, ( '#g 1E.9,

4ange 0.2.9) Dehra Mohabat ( '#g 0:.1, 4ange ;.E2:9.), 4ampura ( '#g 9.:,

4ange 1.32;0.3), &athana ( '#g ;., 4ange 3.200), Gidder ( '#g ;0.9, 4ange 1.120/.0),

Gobindpura ( '#g :1, 4ange ;/.E29:.E), Gehributter ( '#g :1.1, 4ange ;/.3213), Sangat (

'#g 1:.9, 4ange ;/.323), !aisingh ala ( '#g 10., 4ange ;2E;), Multania ( '#g 0.1,

4ange ;/.32:3.0), Baluana ( '#g :1, 4ange ;/.E219.1), 6eon, ( '#g 0/.3, 4ange ;:.E2

0.9), Buladewala ( '#g 03, 4ange ;3.02:.9), Bathinda +ity of Bathinda district ( '#g

;9.1, 4ange ;.E21E.1).

'bout ;// samples of ground water collected from hand pumps and tube well were

analyAed. $he a#erage uranium concentration in water samples is found to #ary from



9.:KgL; to 1E.9KgL;. $he ma?imum #alue up to 99. 3 µg/I is obser#ed in a sample from

#illage Giana. Cour to fi#e water samples were collected from each #illage.

$he orld ealth 5rganiAation (0//) and 7&S+<'4, (0///) ha#e

recommended ;1KgL- and 9KgL- respecti#ely as the safe limit for uranium concentration

in drining water, whereas 7nited States <n#ironmental Protection 'gency (0//:) has

proposed :/KgL; of uranium in water as the safe limit for drining purpose. $he

-nternational +ommission on 4adiological Protection (;99) has set the safe limit as ;.9

KgLl. owe#er most of the countries such as +anada (CP$+<5, 0//;), 'ustralia

(&M4+ 0//), +alifornia (+<P', 0//;) ha#e set a #alue 20 µg/1 as safe limit. $hese

le#els are proposed to represent a uranium concentration in drining water that does not

cause any significant ris to general public o#er the lifetime use of the water for drining

purposes. 4esults re#eal that the a#erage uranium concentration in water for all the

#illages of Bathinda district lie abo#e the safe limit of ;.9µg/1 gi#en by -+4P (;99) and

9KgL; gi#en by 7&S+<'4 (0///). $he a#erage uranium concentration in the drining

waters of only fi#e #illages (Mahima Sar"a, alalwala, 4ampura, &athana and Gidder) is

found to be lower than the safe limit of ;1 KgL; gi#en by 5 (0//). $he waters of

Giana, Bhucho Mandi, !ai Singh ala, Baluana and !a""al are found to ha#e higher

a#erage uranium content in comparison to the safe limit of 30µg/1 gi#en by 7S<P'

(0//:).

'bout 1.3J of the water samples seems to ha#e uranium concentration abo#e

the safe limit of ;1KgL; recently gi#en by 5 (0//) whereas :3.39J of the total

samples analyAed ha#e shown the uranium concentration abo#e the recommended le#el

(30K g/l) gi#en by 7S<P' (0//:) and needs some remedial measures. 'lthough the

haAardous effects of the uranium can be assessed by its determination in #arious organs,



its residents@ time, retention and e?cretion from the body yet the higher incidence of

different types of cancers in these #illages suggests the possible connection.

$he annual dose rate, cumulati#e dose for lifetime (E/years) ingestion and cancer

ris factor for a daily intae of 0 liters of uranium contaminated water ha#e been

calculated using bioinetics model based on -+4P20 (;99E). $he annual dose rate from

drining water is found to #ary from 3.: to 1;.0 KS#La (micro se#ert per annum) with a

mean #alue 01.EKS#La causing an accumulation of 1/:.0 2 :/;.KS# of dose. $he e?cess

cancer ris due to such a high #ariation in accumulated dose is found to #ary from 012

;1? ;/2 J (;8 :9 2 ;8 E1;;) with a mean #alue ? ;/2 J, which means that at least

one indi#idual out of ;:/0E may be influenced by cancer. owe#er the ris may be much

greater in Giana where the ma?imum uranium content of 99. 8K g/1 is found. $hat may

lead to the accumulation of 1:3E.ES# and thus cancer ris rises to 0E9? ;/2 J i.e. out of

:;: persons one person may ha#e a chance to be influenced by cancer.

' few samples of mil, wheat, mustard and pulses collected from the #illages

!a""al, Malana and Giana of Bathinda district, Pun"ab were analyAed for uranium. $he

uranium content in mil has been found to lie between ;.;: 2 1.11KgL- for !a""al, ;.:3 2

;.9;KgL- for Malana and ;.0;2 3.KgL- for Giana with the a#erage #alues 0.:3, ;.1 and

:.::KgL- respecti#ely. $he a#erage uranium #alues in the wheat samples of these #illages

are found to be ;;;, / and ;;1KgLg respecti#ely. $he uranium content of pulses

collected from these #illages ranges between 092 KgLg.

$he daily intae of uranium for the population of these #illages has been

estimated from the daily intae of these food stuffs gi#en by 5 (0//;). $he daily

intae of uranium from foodstuffs (e?cluding water) is found to be highest in Giana with

;./9KgLday howe#er the total intae including drining water for the population in this



#illage is ;:3.;KgLday. $his is much higher than the word wide dietary intae of 1Kg per

day.

$he concentration of uranium in water, soil and foodstuffs has been discussed

howe#er its accumulation and e?cretion in the body should also be mentioned before

reaching at some conclusion. $hus the uranium concentration in blood and urine from ten

families of !a""al, Giana and Malana has also been studied. $he sur#ey includes healthy

persons as well as cancer patients from the same family .$he concentration of uranium in

blood and urine #aries from /.30 2 ;.9KgL; and /.;3 2 /.13KgL; for normal persons to

;./1 2 0./KgL; and /.;; 2 /.33KgL; for cancer patients respecti#ely. $he percentage

e?creted through urine has been found to #ary from ;/.3 2 E9.; J for cancer patients

whereas ;E.1: 2 E1.EEJ for normal persons. $he results re#eal that the uranium content

in blood or urine is higher for cancer patients as compared to the normal persons. $he

uranium e?cretion rate is found to be higher in case of normal persons as e?pected. $hus

it may be concluded that the high uranium content in water and foodstuffs may be one of

the reasons for high mortality rate due to cancer in these #illages

$he uranium concentration in soil of Bathinda is found to #ary from /.3:mgLg

to :.E3mgLg with an a#erage #alue of 0.1mgLg, which is close to world a#erage of

0.;mgLg. $his shows that the uranium content in soil is normal.

hen the sur#ey was carried out from Bathinda #ia Morr (Mansa) towards

$usham area of Bhiwani 6istrict of aryana the content of water in uranium was found

to increase in a systematic manner. -t was found that $usham area consists of high heat

producing granitic rocs e?posed o#er the ground and are intruding with in the ground up

to large distances and are highly radioacti#e. $he high uranium content in Bathinda

waters can be due to the affect of these granite roc intrusions. $he granitic rocs of this



$usham area were analysed from &uclear science +entre, &ew 6elhi and Physics

6epartment of Guru &ana 6e# 7ni#ersity, 'mritsar using the &uclear 4eactor at Bhaba

'tomic 4esearch +entre, Mumbai for the measurement of radioacti#e content. -n these

rocs the a#erage #alue of uranium content was found to be 0.: mgLg and in some of

the roc samples this #alue was found up to E0mgLg. $hese #alues are much higher than

the world a#erage of 0.; mgLg in soil and rocs. $he 7ranium content in water samples

from $usham area was found up to 19.E mgLl. More than 1:J of the water samples were

found to contain uranium more than the upper recommended limit of :/KgLl for water.

$hus $usham area is also unsafe from health point of #iew and may be responsible for

high radioacti#ity in Bathinda waters including foodstuff.

$hus it can be concluded from the abo#e studies that most of the drining water

samples from Bathinda district contain uranium more than the internationally

recommended safe le#els for human consumption. <?cept a #ery few water samples the

concentration of other hea#y metals such as Pb +r 's, Se, g, n, etc and nitrates and

sulphates is reported to be low. $hus the presence of e?cess of uranium in drining water

samples from Bathinda area can be the cause of a large number of cancer deaths in the

area. owe#er a more detailed study is reuired in the area where the scientists from

different disciplines including Medical Sciences should wor together in a collaborati#e

manner to find the solution of this serious problem and the go#ernment should pro#ide

necessary infrastructure for research in#estigations in the state .$he possibility for

purification of the contaminated waters by chemical processes should be wored out and

the efforts should be made to pro#ide pure water and healthy en#ironment to the

residents to sa#e humanity from the serious diseases lie cancer in the area.



Fig: Ma sho!ing the stud" area in Bathinda district# Pun$ab



Fig% & Comarison of the uranium concentration in drin'ing

ground !ater sam(es !ith safe (imits )%*+g,( -.CRP# )*/*0 [ ]; # *+g,(

-U12CE3R# &4440 [ ]0 #)5+g,( -WH6#&4470 [ ]: # &4+g,(

-FPTCE6H#&44)8 CEP3#&44)8 1HMRC#&4470 [ ]G and 94+g,(

-U2EP3#&4490 [ ]1 %



(Prof. Surinder Singh)

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The Presence of Uranium in Excess in Bathinda Waters Can Be One of the Reasons of High Cancer Deaths in the District