Saturday, February 25, 2012, Chandigarh, India

A study conducted by the Bhaba Atomic Research Institute (BARC) has revealed that the use of phosphate fertilisers having high concentration of uranium could be the reason for ground water contamination in the Malwa region (“BARC: Uranium cause for Malwa water contamination”, February 19).

The phosphate fertilisers are made from naturally-occurring rock phosphorite. The rock has inherent U content. Uranium gets concentrated with the use of sulphuric acid in the manufacturing process. There are other reasons as well for the presence of uranium in the region. First is the use of coal in thermal plants. Indian coal has 1.1-3.6 ppm of uranium. After combustion, it gets enriched 10 times in the fly ash. One can see heaps of fly ash dumped outside the Bhatinda thermal plant and the water ponds nearby. Wind also carries U-bearing smoke from the chimneys.

The sediment carried by rivers flowing through Shivalik rocks also contributes to uranium in the soil and water bodies. The Shivalik rocks contain 4-7 ppm of uranium. Various channels of the river system have brought U-bearing sediments and deposited them in the Malwa region.

The sub-surface granites of Malani suite exposed in and around Tusham area in Bhiwani also contribute to the U-content. The average content of uranium in granites is 4-5 ppm, whereas the Tusham granites have concentration of 8-11 ppm.

It is suggested that systematic study of uranium and other heavy metals in the ground water of Malwa region be carried out by scientists from BARC, Panjab University, PGIMER, PAU and other top research institutes.
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NARESH KOCHHAR, Chandigarh