The toxic effects of poisoned water

India Finds Mutated DNA Where Water Is Toxic

By HEATHER TIMMONS
Published: December 4, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/world/as...nce&oref=slogin


NEW DELHI, Dec. 3 — Toxic chemicals in the water in Punjab, India’s grain belt, could be causing genetic mutations in the population, a recent study suggests.

Preliminary results say a two-year study commissioned by the Punjab Pollution Control Board found mutated DNA in blood samples of 65 percent of the people tested. The study also found high levels of arsenic and mercury in the tap water.

Some villages in the landlocked state of Punjab are experiencing high rates of cancer and other diseases. Scientists and government officials are investigating links between those incidence levels and chemicals used in farming and industry.

The most recent study, conducted by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, a school in Punjab, looked at the chemical composition of five drains, the open sewers that handle much of India’s waste, as well as the chemical pollution of the groundwater in the area and the health of people living near those drains.

“Nonspecific” mutations were found in 65 percent of the people tested, the study found. Unsafe levels of arsenic and mercury were found in the groundwater.

As people are exposed to pesticides and as fields are irrigated with contaminated drain water, they are developing neurological, genetic and reproductive problems, said J. S. Thakur, the chief researcher on the study.

Fertilizers and chemicals used in farming are leaching into the groundwater in Punjab and building up in the drains, which carry sewage away from homes. The growing population and irrigation of crops are causing groundwater levels to drop.

At the same time, there are not sufficient facilities to deal with sewage.

“Broadly, the main source of pollution is because of untreated waste water,” said Yogesh Goel, the chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

There is just one sewage treatment plant operating in Punjab, he said, though several more are planned.

On Nov. 25, soil scientists at Punjab Agricultural University reported that 80 percent of the groundwater in Punjab was unfit for human consumption and that some groundwater had lethal concentrations of arsenic.

Children in the Punjab village of Giana have started graying and aging prematurely, a phenomenon some scientists think may be linked to high levels of dangerous chemicals in drinking water. Mr. Goel said that the study did not prove what had caused the residents’ DNA to mutate and that further surveys would be necessary.