Discovery of uranium content in breastmilk and assessment of associated health risks for mothers and infants in Bihar, India

In recent years, groundwater uranium U 238 poisoning has posed serious health hazards in the exposed population. In India, an estimated 151 districts and 18 states are reported with groundwater uranium contamination, and about 1.7% of groundwater sources are affected in the state of Bihar (India). The objective of the study is to evaluate the uranium contamination in the breastmilk of lactating mothers and their breastfed infants. To evaluate the uranium exposure in the infants exposed through their mother’s breastmilk, n = 40 lactating women were selected randomly from different districts of Bihar. After obtaining the written informed consent, their breast milk was collected and analysed for quantification of U 238 . The infants and their mother’s carcinogenic risk (CR) and hazard quotient (HQ) were also studied to know the potential health hazard effects of uranium. The uranium exposure to the infants through their mother’s breastmilk is at a hazardous level. All the analysed breastmilk samples had U 238 contents, which could pose health impacts to infants. The infants are highly vulnerable to potential non-carcinogenic risk in comparison to their mothers due to the real-time uranium elimination from their bodies. The study reveals that the uranium content in the breast milk was significantly high. The 70% of the infant population had the potential to cause non-carcinogenic health effects. From the studied districts, Katihar breastmilk samples had the highest U 238 content. The exposure of uranium to the infant’s body through breast milk is significantly high, which may impact their health. Furthermore, there is also a need for biomonitoring of U 238 in these regions at a broader level.