Study of uranium contamination of ground water in Punjab using X-ray fluorescence technique

A number of reports have appeared in public media about uranium ingestion being a possible cause for cancer and increased birth rate abnormalities among children in the Malwa region of Punjab state in India. These reports link problems like cancer and Autism, with the presence of uranium in the ground waters of Malwa region. The concentration of uranium in drinking water from sources as varied as ground water, canal water supply and reverse osmosis system have been investigated using X-ray fluorescence technique. Samples from the thermal power plants in the regions and nearby ground waters were also analyzed to identify the source of contamination. The samples were collected with assistance of the officials from the Government of Punjab. More than half a litre of each of the water samples was dried at 60 deg-80 deg in an oven. Residue was collected using larger quantities of water samples in case of RO water samples. The elemental analysis of the residue was carried out using the Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer consisting of an 42Mo-anode X-ray tube (Panalytical, 2.5 kW) as an excitation source and a Si(Li) detector. A combination of selective absorbers of 30Zn, 38Sr, and 39Y was used in the incident beam for improving the detection limit for Uranium by reducing the background and removing the 42Mo K X-rays. The detection limit in ppb/litre depends upon the amount of residue