HYDERABAD: The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) under Department of Atomic Energy has found high levels of uranium concentration in the groundwater in the erstwhile Nalgonda district. It tested the samples collected from 25 private tube wells/hand pumps, from November, 2018, to July, 2019, around Lambapur-Peddagattu region in Nalgonda district, as part of the environmental baseline data collection.
It was found that uranium values in the sample locations vary from 1 to 2,618 parts per billion (ppb).
Thirteen of the 25 samples have uranium content less than 60 ppb, which is the prescribed safety limit by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), according to a reply given by Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria in Lok Sabha on Thursday. This means that the uranium content is higher than the prescribed safety limit in 12 samples.
The Union Minister was replying to a question raised by Nalgonda MP and PCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on the levels of uranium concentration in the groundwater in Nalgonda district.
Rattan Lal Kataria said, "Uranium content in groundwater is a natural occurrence and is controlled by several factors such as geo-chemistry of the aquifer rock and its uranium content, recharge/discharge condition of aquifers, fluctuation in the groundwater levels with respect to uranium ore body, residence time of the ground water in the aquifers, climatic conditions, movement of groundwater along the fractures connecting the ore body, anthropogenic activities among others.Further, high uranium content in the groundwater from granitic country rock is a common occurrence in such type of terrains".
"The AMD has communicated the analytical data of groundwater of the entire Telangana region to the State government," the Union Minister said.