Uranium found in mother's milk in 6 Bihar districts, experts warn of impact on child health

New Delhi: In a shocking discovery breast milk samples collected from 40 lactating mothers from 6 districts of Bihar were found to be contaminated with uranium. The discovery was made in a study conducted by the Patna-based Mahavir Cancer Sansthan. The uranium levels were found to be high in lactating mothers residing in Bhojpur, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Katihar and Nalanda districts of the state.

According to the study, the breast milk of these women got contaminated due to continuously consuming water laced with uranium. Uranium has contaminated the groundwater in these districts of Bihar. The mothers studied by researchers were all aged between 17 to 35 and the study was carried out between October 2021 to July 2024.

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The study found uranium contamination in all samples of the breast milk they tested. While the highest uranium contamination was observed in women from Katihar and this milk was categorised as hazardous. Samastipur, Nalanda, Khagaria and Begusarai followed Katihar when it came to uranium contamination.

Uranium was discovered in all milk samples, varying from 0 to 5.25 g/L.

Uranium contamination in breast milk poses a direct threat to the children consuming it. Milk is like poison for babies and toddlers.

Doctors say that uranium-laced milk may cause cancer in children and also affect their kidneys. It may also hinder the child's physical and mental growth, they added. However, this study showed that as of now, 70% of the children were in the non-cancer risk zone.

Scientists found that most of the babies in these districts of Bihar were suffering from other health complications due to the uranium-contaminated milk, and were not at the risk of developing cancer.

However this is not a Bihar specific problem. In 18 states of the country, a total of 151 districts have reported uranium contamination in drinking water. Of these, the highest uranium contamination is in Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

The growing population, pollution, untreated sewage and industrial waste are all together turning groundwater into poison, said researchers. They also warned that if these states, especially Bihar, do not take immediate steps, then the health of both newborns and women who have recently given birth would be at risk. They suggested regular checks and monitoring of groundwater in these areas.