GSI to assess groundwater contamination by heavy metals in Punjab and Haryana

Chandigarh, May 27

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is taking up a project to determine the level of contamination by trace elements and heavy metals in groundwater in parts of Punjab and Haryana and prepare a geo-environmental map to identify contaminated and non-contaminated areas.

The project, to be executed over a two-year period, will cover areas in the districts of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Nawanshahr in Punjab and parts of Rohtak and Bhiwani districts in Haryana, according to GSI officials.

Trace elements and heavy metals are those whose presence in the environment is in very low quantity and can be toxic to humans if consumed at high levels over long periods. These include mercury, nickel, platinum, thallium, uranium, lead, iron, arsenic, manganese and radionuclides.

The project will also trace the geogenic, that is factors originating in the soil, as well as anthropogenic, that is related to human activity, causes of the contamination and suggest possible remedial measures. The GSI will execute the project in association with the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), with which a memorandum of understanding had been signed last year to carry out collaborative studies and exchange data, the GSI officials said.

The project has been initiated in the backdrop of reports that 13 districts of Punjab have arsenic values well above the safety limit. Further, samples collected from 15,384 houses in Punjab indicated heavy metal contamination.