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ANALYSIS OF HEAVY METALS IN GROUND WATER FROM LOTE INDUSTRIAL AREA IN RATNAGIRI DISTRICT (MAHARASHTRA)

G.B. Raje1*, D.V. Muley2 and D.D. Mankar2

1Dept. of Zoology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur- 416 004

2D.B.J. College, Chiplun- 415 605, India

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Abstract

Heavy metals, viz. Ca, Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb and Cd in natural spring water and dugwell water from Lote Industrial Area and nearby villages have been monthly analysed from April 1997 to March 1998. This is preliminary effort to study the heavy metal pollution of ground-water resources in Lote industrial area of Ratnagiri district. The results on trace metals indicated varying degrees of contamination in ground water which may cause a serious health problems to domestic animals and human beings.

Keywords

Groundwater, Heavy metals.

Introduction

Ratnagiri and Raigad districts in Maharashtra shows fast industrial development. Due to major water resources in Konkan region, M.I.D.C. has developed industrial zone at Lote in Ratnagiri district. Total area of Lote M.I.D.C. is about 575 hect. including 270 industries with 79 units manufacturing pesticides, chemicals, paints, dyes, pharmaceuticals, detergents etc. and discharging gaseous, liquid and solid effluents in air, water and soil and thus polluting local and nearby environment. Most of industries do not have effluent treatment plants. Liquid effluents of various industries are carried through the drainage pipe and discharged into Dabhol crick. Due to frequent leakage problems in drainage pipe, effluents spill into nearby streams and open land. Some industries release untreated liquid effluents directly into die streams through some by-pass arrangement. In addition to this, solid waste disposal in and around the industries has blocked free flow of water making it more contaminated leading to frequent kills of domestic animals and field crops.

Materials and Methods

Lote M.I.D.C. is established at the top of Parshuram Ghat. Flow of water is always towards the low-lying areas from the top and hence seven sports ( 4 natural springs and 3 dugwells) around the industrial zone from low-dying areas were selected for sampling. Spots A,B.D and F were natural springs from Ketki, Dhangarwadi, Awashi and Songaon, respectively, while spots C,E and G were dugwells from Chalkewadi, Ghanekhunt and Patawardhan Lote respectivley. Water samples were collected in 500 ml. polythene bottles and analyzed on 15th day of each month during April 1997 to March 1998. Collected samples were acidified with concentrated nitric acid on spot to bring the pH of the samples below 2 in order to kill all the biota utilizing trace metals in waters. The pre-treatment for heavy metal determination in water was done by using standard methods for analysis of water and waste water (APHA, 1989). Preconcentration of the samples was done by evaporation method. Glass distilled water was used for all preparations. The analysis of heavy metal was done with the Perkin Elmer Atomic Absoprtion Spectrophotometer (Model 3030, USA). The results of the analysis are reported in mg/L and compared with WHO (1984) and Indian Standards (1983) for drinking water.

Results and Discussion

The results of heavy metal contents in all samples have been presented in Table No. 1 to 7. The findings are compared either with WHO (1984) or Indian Standards (Prasad and lyer 1983) for drinking water.

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Table 1: Concentration (mg/L) of Calcium in ground water

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Table 2: Concentration (mg/L) of Manganese ub ground water

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Table 3: Concentration (mg/l) of Copper in ground water

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Table 4: Concentration (mg/l) of Iron in ground water

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Table 5: Concentration (mg/l) of zinc in ground water

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Table 6: Concentration (mg/l) of Cadmium in ground water

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Table 7: Concentration (mg/l) of Iron in ground water

Calcium remains present in rocks and leaches from there to water and is quite abundant in water. Sewage and industrial wastes are also important sources of calcium (Mishra and Saxena, 1989). Calcium is* responsible for hardness of water. Although hardness has no known adverse effects on health, there is evidence that hard water plays a role in heart disease (Sastry and Rathee, 1998). During the present work Ca was detected in all the samples and ranged from 0.246 to 219.9 mg/L. The Indian Standards for Ca is 200 mg/L. While taking into consideration these limits, the values of calcium content at all spots except D and G during April 1997(Table No. 1) were much below the limits given by IS and WHO.

Manganese (Mn) is one of the important trace elements essential for organisms. It has low acute oral toxicity, however, chronic manganese poisoning leads to progressive deterioration of central nervous system and symptoms resembling to those of Parkinson’s disease are observed. Mn stains laundry and order sanitary fixture and gets deposited on food during cooking (Sayani et al., 1988). In the present investigation Mn ranged from below detectable level (BDL) to 66.5 mg/L. In general the values of Mn content of water samples from all the spots were much below the limits given by WHO. The WHO standard for Mn is 0.05 mg/L. This limit was exceeded at spots A, B and G during May, Dec. and Sept-Oct. 1997 respectively (Table 2).

Excessive ingestion of Copper (Cu) is responsible for specific disease of the bone (Verma et al., 1995). The range of copper observed in various water samples was from BDL to 0.454 mg/L (Table 3).

Iron (Fe) is abundantly present in the earth’s crust. There may be 1 to 10 mg/1 concentration of Fe in ground water (Hem, 1970). Although it is abundant in the earth’s crust, it is absorbed in different forms at different rates and iron deficiency is quite common among people through out the world (NRC, 1980). In die present study, iron contents vary between BDL to 39.5 mg/1 (Table 4). Recommended Indian (1983) and WHO (1984) Standard of Fe in drinking water is 0.3 mg/L. At spot ‘A’. Fe content was much above the WHO and its limit through out the years, while at spot E, permissible limit was exceeded during April and june to Sep. 1997 and March 1998 (Table 4)

Zinc (zn), when present above permissble limit of 0.5 mg/L (WHO, 1984), imparts unpleasant taste to drinking water. Symptoms of Zn toxicity include irritability, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite and nausea (NRC, 1977). Zinc content of all the water samples except spot G ranged between BDL and 0.407 mg/l which is well within the permissible limits. From Oct. 1997 to Feb. 1998 at spot G, concentration of Zn was exceeded (Table 5). Such increased concentration of Zn is dangerous to the human beings.

Cadmium (Cd), even in low concentration is quite toxic to human health ( Verma et al., 1995). The cadmium content in ground water have been observed below detectable limits (Sayani et al., 1988). Present findings revealed trace amount of cadmium ranging from BDL to 0.01 mg/L, which was well within the standard limit of 0.01 mg/L laid by WHO (1984). Spot A, in April and Nov. 1997, Spot E, in July 1997, Spot F in Oct. 1997 and Spot G in July and Oct. 1997 exhibited exceeded level of cadmium concentration (Table 6).

Main sources of lead (Pb) in ground water includes runoff from gas stations and effluent from battery recycling operations (Rajgopal, 1984). Lead accumulates in bone and tissues. The accumulation of Pb may lead to Pb poisoning or plumbism., which disturbs hemosynthesis and causes kidney damage and encephalopathy. It has been associated with miscarriages and with reproductive and sperm abnormalities. The safe concentration of lead in drinking water given by WHO (1984) is 0.06 mg/L. In the present investigation, all spots except E and G exhibited exceeded level of lead during certain months of the study period, otherwise, Pb concentration was within the permissible limit (Table 7). During Oct. 1997 at spot A and F, the concentration of lead was 0.130 and 0.156 mg/L, respectively, which gives warning of heavy pollution of ground water by lead.

The results of the present work indicated that the ground water at spot A is severely polluted and waters from other spots are also at the verge of severe pollution if not cared properly. Some incidences of air and water borne diseases like nausea, headache, vomiting etc. in human beings and deaths in domestic animals and crop failure due to air, water and land pollution have been recorded in Lote industnal area which might be due to heavy concentration of some metal ions in discharges. The major sources of pollution of ground water are the surface discharge of effluents, disposal of solid wastes and percolation of toxic effluents in the industrial area, which needs monitoring, and management of waste disposal.

References

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