Assessment of Excess Cancer Risk due to Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Bathinda District of Malwa Belt of Punjab (India)

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) has been used to measure the uranium content of the ground water samples of Bathinda district of Malwa belt of Punjab (India). Out of total number of habitations covered under this survey, 40 are having uranium content more than 30 ppb (WHO safe limit). The aim of this study is to investigate the uranium content of the ground water of Bathinda district of Malwa belt of Punjab and to assess the radiological and chemical risk due to the uranium present through ingestion. The uranium content of the water samples of the villages under investigation varies from 32.10325.10 ppb (gl-1) with an average value of 108.42 ppb (gl-1). The excess cancer risk varies from 0.919.2110-4 with average value of 3.07 10-4 and hazard quotient varies from 0.41 to 4.15 with average value of 1.38, respectively. The LADD varies from 1.8618.81 (g kg1 day1) with average value of 6.27 (g kg1 day1).