Investigation of Toxic Elements in Groundwater of Kalalanwala Area near Lahore

The section of news appeared in media in last week of July 2000 that deformed bones in children of village Kalalanwala are causing unrest among the people and scared villagers are seeking help. The fluoride content in some drinking water samples reportedly analyzed by PCSIR were as high as 40 ppm. A group of environmental researchers from Geoscience Laboratory, Geological Survey of Pakistan made a program to investigate the possible contamination of geological importance in the groundwater of the area. The sample collected from the village Kalalanwala/Kot Asadullah near Manga Mandi, Lahore were analyzed for fluoride and arsenic in water, being used by residents of the locality. The area under investigation is a flood plain of river Ravi, where the fine silt and clay deposits during flood-seasons and it encourages the agriculturist to use the fields to cultivate for common crops. Since two decades the area is being developed as industrial zone specially Chunian and Kasur, and for the last five years the Kalalanwala and nearby area are being exploited for various industries. Modern instrumentation facilities of the high-tech Geoscience Laboratory were used to analyze the samples. The concentration of fluoride was found in the range of 1.4 to 22 mg/L and the As contents ranged from 50 to 920 ug/L, both being beyond the threshold EQS (environmental quality standards) values (i.e., F=0.8mg/L and As 20ug/L) and thus this water is not suitable for life. The investigations were also carried out for other elements like Zn, Cr, Cd, Ni, Co, Pb and Hg in addition to the usual parameters. Whereas the other laboratories were emphasizing on fluoride only, this team discovered the presence of another important toxic element arsenic in the samples collected from the affected area, which poses the real threat to the human life. The contents of Ca were found less than usual, thus deficiency of calcium is probably one of the possible factor in deforming the bones. By the time it is established that the bone deformity cases are being reported from whole of the area stretching through Shanki Bhattian to Kot Radha Kishan. This research will definitely open new venues for other scientists around the globe.

Author(s):
Muhammad Naseem, Abida Mumtaz Farooqi, Dilshad Masih and Muhammad Anwar
Geoscience Lab, GSP, Islamabad, Pakistan.