60 µg/l uranium in drinking water safe: BARC Study

Context

  • A new study by scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has concluded that concentration of uranium, a radioactive substance, up to 60 micrograms per litre (millionth of a gram per litre or µg/l) in drinking water was entirely safe, suggesting that the recently formulated “more stringent” national standard of 30 µg/l could be counterproductive.

Key Findings of BARC

  • For years, the acceptable level of uranium concentration in drinking water in India was 60 µg/l — set by the country’s nuclear safety watchdog, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
    uranium
    Credit: Indian Express
    • In 2021, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the custodian of standards and quality in India, however, announced a new limit of 30 µg/l, in line with recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • The BARC study, meanwhile, cited several medical researches, including those conducted by the WHO, to argue that small concentrations of uranium in drinking water pose no threat.
  • According to the BARC study, in the absence of any evidence of adverse health impacts at such small concentrations, considerations like geological (prevalence of uranium) and socio-economic conditions, and population dynamics must also be taken into account while deciding on national standards on uranium contamination.

WHO Standards

  • “The WHO has recently concluded that there is no evidence of a correlation between the natural levels of uranium in drinking water and a carcinogenic effect… it emphasised that there is no proof associating uranium in drinking water with a cancer risk.
  • According to the researchers, the WHO’s standards of uranium concentration in drinking water — 30 µg/l — were mere guidelines, and not a recommended safety limit.

International Standards

  • Finland and Slovakia — two nations with considerable amounts of uranium consumption — have prescribed safety limits of 100 and 350 µg/l respectively; another uranium-rich country, South Africa, has a limit of 70 µg/l.
  • The limits in countries like Canada and Australia that have the largest deposits of uranium among others, however, are 20 and 15 µg/l, respectively.
  • Germany, which does not have uranium, has even lower limits.

Source: IE

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