Lucknow, June 14 : A groundwater toxicology study, conducted in nine districts of western UP by CSIR-IITR, Lucknow, has found high levels of calcium, iron, fluoride, sulphate and other elements in a majority of villages and urban areas, making the water unfit for drinking. According to medical experts, excessive presence of calcium, fluoride, sulfate and iron causes several health issues. Drinking water with excessive mineral content prevents the human body from absorbing iodine. Further, it causes arthritis, fluorosis and teeth pigmentation. Similarly, heavy iron in water has led to alzheimer's and anaemia among local residents. The chemical content test of the Hindon basin groundwater was commissioned by the UP groundwater department last year. The study revealed that, among all west UP districts, Agra's groundwater was the worst. The report said that a total of 337 villages and urban areas of Saharanpur (96), Muzaffarnagar (70), Shamli (29), Meerut (26), Baghpat (33), Ghaziabad (21), Agra (25), Firozabad (13) and Gautam Buddh Nagar (24) were selected for groundwater sampling. Of the total samples, groundwater in 237 villages has excessive iron, excess calcium in 240 villages, high levels of fluoride in 68 villages and sulfate in 12 villages. Groundwater in the rest of the villages has various other metal contents in excess. In Saharanpur district, 70 villages reported heavy iron content in groundwater and 72 with calcium. Similarly, in Muzaffarnagar, 34 villages have high levels of calcium and 44 have excess iron content. In Baghpat, 25 villages have high levels of calcium and 28 villages have high iron content. In Gautam Buddh Nagar, 24 villages have heavy presence of calcium in groundwater and 13 villages have high iron content. In Ghaziabad, groundwater in 21 settlements has excess calcium and heavy iron content in 16 others. In Agra district, groundwater in 23 villages/urban areas has excessive calcium and 19 others have heavy iron content. In Meerut district, 21 settlements have high calcium content in groundwater and 18 others have high iron content. V.K. Upadhaya, senior geophysicist of UP groundwater department who commissioned the study, said, "The study by CSIR-IITR is still on, and we will submit a comprehensive report in the next two months." Dr Prabhat Agrawal, professor of medicine department at S.N. Medical College in Agra, said: "Because of the Aravali range that extends up to NCR, the groundwater in most districts of western Uttar Pradesh have presence of heavy metals, which is natural. Drinking water from earthen pot is the cheapest and the best way to save ourselves from heavy metals". He said modern water filters are also good in curbing heavy metal, but using these leads to wastage of huge quantity of water, which goes down the drain instead of the ground to rejuvenate the water table. /IANS