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Indian authorities investigating welfare agency rather than uranium contamination

Instead of investigating the cause of toxicity, the department has chosen to make inquiries about the organisation taking care of the special children.

Uranium all over, health dept limits probe to centre, The Times of India, Balwant Garg ,   Jun 25, 2010, FARIDKOT: In the midst of a fear gripping Punjab after high concentrations of uranium were detected in drinking water, the state health department has reacted by directing its probe at the centre whose kids are the worst affected. This comes days after Germany’s Microtrace Mineral Lab had found abnormally high presence of the radioactive element in hair samples of 80% of 149 neurologically disabled children at the Baba Farid Centre here.

Instead of investigating the cause of toxicity, the department has chosen to make inquiries about the organisation taking care of the special children. The probe team formed by the government is yet to collect samples of water, soil, vegetation or hair of patients to verify the authenticity of Germany’s laboratory report.
“Instead of trying to go into the depth of the problem, the team is engaged in a useless pursuit,” claimed Carin Smit, a UK-based clinical toxicologist, who had first highlighted the issue during a visit to the centre last year.

Epidemologist Manjit Krishan Bhalla, the team incharge, said he was investigating the matter according to the directions of higher authorities. When asked whether their queries on the funding of centre were in anyway related to the presence of uranium in the hair of kids, he replied that as far as he knew uranium could not have any ill-effects on human health……

Uranium all over, health dept limits probe to centre – Chandigarh – City – The Times of India

June 26, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive, uranium