Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | Source apportionment of Uranium in Hotspots of Bathinda & Mansa districts, SW-Punjab |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Focus area : | Environmental Geochemistry, Radiological Studies |
Principal Investigator : | Prof. Bikramjit Singh Bajwa, Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjab |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | bsbajwa1@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | Uranium is a major groundwater contaminant in SW-Punjab, with concentrations ranging from 0.13 to 624 µg/l. Recent studies have confirmed that 70-78% of groundwater samples from the Bathinda & Mansa districts show alarmingly high uranium concentrations. The region is known as the cancer capital of India due to its high incidence of cancer cases and has experienced three times an increase since 2016. Although co-occurrence of geogenic and anthropogenic contaminants in groundwater from Rajasthan, India has already been reported, source apportionment of the high prevalence of uranium observed in the SW-Punjab region remains a mystery. A detailed interdisciplinary study is planned to delineate the source of extremely high uranium observed in the identified hotspots in Bathinda & Mansa districts. The project will examine the lithological and mineralogical heterogeneity in the uranium contaminated hotspots up to a depth of approximately 700 ft and establish its relationship with depth-wise uranium distribution in groundwater. Five to seven bore wells will be selectively drilled based on available uranium distribution data with contrasting hydrogeochemistry to address aquifer physicochemical heterogeneity, uranium distribution, and nature of groundwater. Field soil and water will be examined for mineralogy, particle size, elemental composition, and uranium in soil and water. Carbon dating will also be planned to understand the chronological order of aquifer development and extrapolate for basin-scale paleoclimatic reconstruction. |
Co-PI: | Dr. Inderpreet Kaur, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab-143005, Dr. Susanta Paikaray, Panjab University, Chandigarh-160014 |
Total Budget (INR): | 29,99,960 |
Organizations involved