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      What are we drinking? Assessment of water quality in an urban city of Punjab, India

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          Abstract

          Introduction:

          Ground water is the ultimate and most suitable fresh water resource for human consumption in the urban areas of India. Studies regarding ground water quality have shown that the higher rate of exploration as compared to the rate of recharging, inappropriate dumping of solid, as well as liquid waste, lack of strict enforcement of law has led to the deterioration of ground water quality. The present study was thus, carried out to evaluate physicochemical, as well as a microbiological profile of tap water, and filtered water in urban areas of Patiala, Punjab.

          Materials and Methods:

          The three zones under Municipal Corporation and two areas under Public Health Department were chosen according to the simple random sampling from Patiala city. From each area, 10 houses were chosen according to the systematic random sampling technique (n = 50). Water was taken from two sources, tap water, and from the water filter. Two samples were taken from each source one for the physicochemical analysis and another for bacteriological analysis. The samples which were sent for bacteriological assessment were collected in a sterile container.

          Results:

          The number of water samples found to be within desirable limits with respect to physicochemical parameters were significantly more with the filter water sample than the tap water samples. Suspicious/unsatisfactory microbiological quality of water was observed in 28% and 4% of tap and filter water samples, respectively.

          Conclusion:

          The results indicate that certain chemical parameters such as hardness, chloride, and fluoride levels were beyond the permissible limits. Therefore, we recommend that home filters should be installed, serviced appropriately, and their water quality should be checked routinely. Also, any leak from sewage pipes should be promptly repaired to prevent contamination of drinking water.

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          Most cited references26

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          Incidence of transitional cell carcinoma and arsenic in drinking water: a follow-up study of 8,102 residents in an arseniasis-endemic area in northeastern Taiwan.

          A significant association between ingested arsenic and bladder cancer has been reported in an arseniasis-endemic area in southwestern Taiwan, where many households share only a few wells in their villages. In another arseniasis-endemic area in northeastern Taiwan, each household has its own well for obtaining drinking water. In 1991-1994, the authors examined risk of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in relation to ingested arsenic in a cohort of 8,102 residents in northeastern Taiwan. Estimation of each study subject's individual exposure to inorganic arsenic was based on the arsenic concentration in his or her own well water, which was determined by hydride generation combined with atomic absorption spectrometry. Information on duration of consumption of the well water was obtained through standardized questionnaire interviews. The occurrence of urinary tract cancers was ascertained by follow-up interview and by data linkage with community hospital records, the national death certification profile, and the cancer registry profile. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to estimate multivariate-adjusted relative risks and 95% confidence intervals. There was a significantly increased incidence of urinary cancers for the study cohort compared with the general population in Taiwan (standardized incidence ratio = 2.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22, 3.24). A significant dose-response relation between risk of cancers of the urinary organs, especially TCC, and indices of arsenic exposure was observed after adjustment for age, sex, and cigarette smoking. The multivariate-adjusted relative risks of developing TCC were 1.9, 8.2, and 15.3 for arsenic concentrations of 10.1-50.0, 50.1-100, and >100 microg/liter, respectively, compared with the referent level of < or =10.0 microg/liter.
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            Mortality for certain diseases in areas with high levels of arsenic in drinking water.

            Blackfoot disease was prevalent in a limited area on the southwest coast of Taiwan, where artesian well water containing arsenic (median = 0.78 ppm arsenic) had been used for many years. Previous studies of arsenic exposure in the blackfoot disease endemic area have been focused on malignant tumors. We, therefore, conducted this study to analyze mortality of all death causes in blackfoot disease endemic areas and to determine other neglected cancers or noncancer diseases related to artesian well water containing high levels of arsenic. We calculated standardized mortality ratios for cancer and noncancer diseases, by sex, during the period from 1971 to 1994 and compared them to the local reference group (i.e, Chiayi-Tainan County) and the national reference group (i.e., Taiwan population). The results revealed marked standardized mortality ratio differences for the 2 reference groups. Greater mortality was found for males and females with bladder, kidney, skin, lung, nasal-cavity, bone, liver, larynx, colon, and stomach cancers, as well as lymphoma than in the local reference population. With respect to noncancer diseases, we found greater mortality for males and females who had vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and bronchitis than in the local reference group. Mortalities for other diseases--including rectal cancer, cerebrovascular disease, and other diseases--were higher among cases than the local reference group. Our results indicated that the hazardous effect of arsenic is systemic. Diseases related to arsenic exposure included those reported previously by other investigators, as well as diseases reported in the present study.
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              Heavy metal contamination and its indexing approach for river water

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                J Family Med Prim Care
                J Family Med Prim Care
                JFMPC
                Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
                Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )
                2249-4863
                2278-7135
                Oct-Dec 2015
                : 4
                : 4
                : 514-518
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Department of Community Medicine, MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India
                [2 ] Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India
                [3 ] Department of Community Medicine, PIMS, Jalandhar, India
                [4 ] Department of Microbiology, GMC, Patiala, India
                [5 ] Department of Community Medicine, GMC, Patiala, India
                Author notes
                Address for correspondence: Dr. Amanjot K. Singh, Department of Community Medicine, MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India. E-mail: amanwahi83@ 123456gmail.com
                Article
                JFMPC-4-514
                10.4103/2249-4863.174267
                4776601
                26985408
                7aa8f26a-b946-4737-a0e7-24adf100efa7
                Copyright: © 2015 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

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                Categories
                Original Article

                coliform count,filter water,tap water,water quality
                coliform count, filter water, tap water, water quality

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