E.V.S.

Presentation
Toxicity & Presence of Uranium in Punjab's Drinking Water

Presented by : Raghav Garg CUN12010410 Rahul Bansal CUN12010410 Rahul Puniani CUN12010410 Rahul Singh CUN12010410

What is Natural Uranium

Uranium is an element that has been in rocks since the earth was formed. Not all rocks contain uranium, but there are some places in the world where uranium is in the bedrock. Other related elements that may be found in association with uranium include radium (Ra226 and 228) and radon (Rn-222). These other elements are part of a sequence formed through a transformation (decay) process that begins with the most prevalent form of natural (unprocessed) uranium (U238). U-238 is not radioactive enough to be useful in nuclear power plants or weapons. In fact, Enriched uranium used in power plants , needs to have most of the U-238 taken out.

How Uranium is Dangerous ?

The chemical properties of uranium in drinking water are of greater concern than its radioactivity. Most ingested uranium is eliminated from the body. However, a small amount is absorbed and carried through the bloodstream. Studies show that drinking water with elevated levels of uranium can affect the kidneys over time. Bathing and showering with water that contains uranium is not a health concern but drinking uranium water is very dangerous for health as it can lead to

Presence Of Uranium In Punjabs Water

Uranium poisoning in Punjab first made news in March 2009, when a South African Board Certified Clinical Metal Toxicologist, Carin Smit, visiting Faridkot city in Punjab,india instrumental in having hair and urine samples taken (2008/9) of 149/53 children respectively, who affected with birth abnormalities including physical deformities, neurological and mental disorders. These samples were shipped to Microtrace Mineral Lab, Germany. At the onset of the action research project, it was expected that heavy metal / chemistry toxicity might be implicated as reasons why these children were so badly affected. Surprisingly, high levels of uranium were found in limit.8% of the samples, and in the case of one child, the levels were more than 60 times the maximum safe limit.

History
As early as 1995, Guru Nanak Dev University(GNDU) released a report, showing the presence of uranium and other heavy metals beyond permissible limits in water samples collected from Bathinda and Amritsar district, however there was no response from the government time at time. The hotspot for this increased toxicity, however was the Malwa region of Punjab, which showed extremely high levels of chemical, biological and radioactive toxicity, including uranium contamination. As the region's groundwater and food chain was gradually contaminated by industrial effluents flowing into fresh water sources used both for irrigation and drinking purposes, the region showed a rise in neurological diseases, and a sharp increase in cancer cases and kidney ailments, for example - in Muktsar district between 2001 and 2009, 1,074 people died of cancer.

Causes
An investigation carried out The Observer newspaper, in 2009, revealed the possible that cause of contamination of soil and ground water in Malwa region of Punjab, to be the fly ash from coal burnt at thermal power plants, which contains high levels of uranium and ash as the region has state's two

What ? Why ? When ?

Punjab Fights Back

Punjab plans a fight back against toxic water .Presence of toxic substances such as metals, nickel and uranium in the drinking water across the state continues to be a big headache for the Punjab Government. Arsenic and other toxic substances have been detected in more than 1,000 villages Punjab is set to submit a report to the Centre for setting up reverse osmosis (RO) plants in more villages and installing chlorination plants at more than 3,000 waterworks There is a plan to install RO plants in 1,012 villages where water is unfit for drinking. Around 180 villages have already received such plants. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will release funds to install plants in more than 500 villages soon. Besides, a demand for 50 crore to set up RO plants in 220 villages and chlorination plants in 3,380 villages by the end of this fiscal has been sent to the Centre. The Health Department is working on a scheme to improve the quality of drinking water, It plans to install mechanically operated RO systems with automated teller system