Drinking water sources in several districts of Chhattisgarh, India, have been found to contain dangerously high levels of uranium. These levels are significantly higher than the recommended limits set by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indian government. This contamination poses a serious health risk to the people living in the areas, as uranium exposure has been linked to various diseases such as cancers, pulmonary conditions, skin diseases, and kidney diseases.

As per the WHO guidelines, uranium in drinking water should not exceed the limit of 15 microgram per litre. If it gets exceeded it would be a matter of concern for the living being. The global health body (WHO) has claimed some countries like India have crossed or doubled the given limit.

Contrary to WHO permissible limit, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre study claimed that even 60 micrograms per litre is safe. However, the drinking samples from various districts of Chhattisgarh including Bemetara, Rajnandgaon, Kanker, Balod, Kawardha and Durg found 100 micrograms of uranium per litre. A sample from a village in Balod had 130 micrograms of uranium and another from Kanker contained 106 micrograms per litre.

The average of uranium from these villages counts between 86 to 105 microgram per litre. The very first sample was taken from a 25-year old borewell in Devtarai village of Balod district.

The village chief Daneshwar Sinha said, "There is no other source of water in the village... one day we came to know that research was done and some students took water from here, in which uranium was found, after that we ran to the PHE Department and it was tested once again."

The village has now a second bore but the source of water in that borewell is not confirmed, whether it is different from the one that contained uranium. All the samples from these villages were checked by Dr. Santosh Kumar Saar, the Chair of the university's Chemistry Department.

India’s battle with uranium in water has been a long,  with the  exceeding limit advised by WHO.  Punjab And Haryana, the two states which produce half of the wheat supply of India are also facing this issue.

"Uranium contamination in groundwater is a matter of serious concern, as it is hazardous to the health of those exposed. High exposure may cause bone toxicity and impaired renal function and cancer" said Ashok Kumar Ghosh, the then Chairman of the State Pollution Control Board to PTI.

Methods to reduce uranium in water

A study led by the BTI scientist Poonam Deshmukh along with her three colleagues states that uranium can be filtered by using bark of gooseberry (amala) trees. Deshmukh  published  her findings but the method is not implemented yet.

"We thought that if there is concentration of uranium in water... There should also be remedial techniques. We developed a 'bio-adjusting' technique (and) we got the best result with amla bark”, said Miss Deshmukh.