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Thursday, Jan 08, 2009
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Bangalore groundwater carcinogenic?

Chitra V. Ramani

Chickpet and Hebbal have the highest radon concentration
Radon is a colourless, odourless, water-soluble radioactive gas

Bangalore: It is common knowledge that the quality of groundwater in Bangalore is poor. But it now appears that the situation may be graver than initially thought.

A study taken up by the Bangalore University’s Department of Environmental Studies in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, has found large quantities of radon, a carcinogen, in groundwater.

According to the study, taken up by R.K. Somashekhar, professor and chairman of the department, Deljo Davis, K. Shivanna and K.L. Prakash, groundwater in Bangalore has high radon concentration, which makes the population highly vulnerable to health risks, especially stomach cancer.

Radon is a colourless, odourless, water-soluble radioactive gas. The source of radon gas is the city’s subterranean granite rock. Prof. Somashekhar told The Hindu that the radon concentration ranged from 11 Becquerel (Bq)/l to 1,000 Bq/l, which is far higher than the permissible limit of 11.1 Bq/l. The study also pointed out that Chickpet and Hebbal had the highest radon concentration. Occurrence of radon in groundwater is often found in areas with uranium-rich rocks and soils and granite terrain.

Radon emanates from the rocks and dissolves in groundwater easily as it is highly soluble. Its release also depends on the porosity of the rocks and flow intensity of water.

“However, the levels of radon contamination are high, more than the permissible amounts prescribed by the World Health Organisation,” Prof. Somashekhar said.

This is perhaps why the incidence of stomach cancer is more than other cancers, according to the cancer registry of Bangalore.

According to figures available, over the past three years, the number of stomach cancer cases has seen an increase of 9.29 per cent among men, and 4.3 per cent among women.

Samples

Prof. Somashekhar said that as part of the study, the team collected 90 samples from different parts of the city. “We are yet to see if quarrying has contributed to the radon release into groundwater. If due to quarrying cracks occur in granite rocks, then the chances of radon emanating from them is high.”

The study, the first on radon concentration in groundwater in Bangalore, has found that radon activity is a function of depth, with higher activities at deeper depths, with some exceptions.

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