a comparative study on heavy metal concentration in the sediments of perumallake and uppanar river...

7/27/2019 A comparative study on heavy metal concentration in the sediments of Perumallake and Uppanar river of Cuddal

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International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064

Volume 2 Issue 6, June 2013

www.ijsr.net

A Comparative Study on Heavy MetalConcentration in the Sediments of Perumal Lake

and Uppanar River of Cuddalore District,Tamilnadu, India

Arul P1, Francis Lawrence J

2

Department of Geology, Presidency College, Chennai - 5, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract: The heavy metals are carcinogenic, mutagenic and they are Persistent, Bio-accumulative and Toxic (PBT) move amongair, water and soil and cross human boundaries. The mixing of toxic heavy metals into the water bodies deterioratesthe quality of water,

sediment and aquatic organisms. It is a threat to the several endemic fish species due to the heavy metal pollution of rivers and lakes.

Further, the heavy metals could also pass to human beingsthrough the food chain and create various health hazards. These heavy

metals have been discharged into the ecosystems by means of various industrial and other anthropogenic activities. In order to study theindustrial pollution, the sediments of Perumal lake and the Uppanar river which were found very close to the industrial area of

Cuddalore district of Tamilnadu, India have been chosen to assess the concentration of heavy metals. About 4 sediment samples were

totally collected from these two water bodies and analyzed for the heavy metal concentrations. The study revealed that both of the water

bodies show theaccumulation of heavy metals like Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn and Co at an alarming rate. There is an urgent need to control theindustrial pollution and save the above two water bodies for the welfare of the present and future generations.

Keywords: Samples, Heavy metals, Contamination, Concentration and Industries

1.IntroductionRivers and lakes are a very important part of our naturalheritage. Pollution of heavy metals in an aquatic ecosystemis growing at an alarming rate and has become an importantworldwide problem, [1]. As heavy metals cannot bedegraded they are deposited, assimilated or incorporated inwater, sediment and aquatic animals and thus, causing heavymetal pollution in the water bodies, [2].Wong et al, [3] showed that heavy metals are potentiallytoxic to crops, animals and humans when contaminated soil

is used for crop production. Consumption of plant productsand fish from the contaminated site poses great health risk tohuman beings.Heavy metal pollution in an aquaticenvironment has become a serious problem and also animportant factor responsible for the decline of water,sediment and fish quality, [4].

The Heavy metals are chemical elements with a specificgravity at least 5 times that of water. The specific gravity ofwater is 1 at 4C, [5]. Environmental Protection Agency listout the eight most common heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu,Pb, Hg, Ni and Zn) discharged by the industries likemetallurgy, chemical, alloys, paint, pulp and paper, leather,textiles, fertilizers, petroleum refining, coal burning, etc.

These metals are released into the eco-system by variousindustrial activities and they bio-accumulate in the livingorganisms. For example, lead bio-accumulate in bones andteeth, cadmium build up in kidneys and mercury attachesitself to protein especially in the liver, [6].

A comparative study of heavy metal concentrationinthesediments of the Perumal Lake and the Uppanar River whichwere found very close to the industrial area of the Cuddaloredistrict of Tamilnadu, India has been carried out by takinginto considerationof the industrial pollution and the toxiceffect of the heavy metals.

The present study is carried out with a view tofind outwhether the heavy metal concentration level in the waterbody sediments was within the permissible limit or above thepermissible limit. The study also aimed to know the effect ofthe industrial activities on the nearby aquatic environment.

2.Literature SurveyThe heavy metals are significant because of their toxic actionon man and other life forms.The presence of heavy metals in

the human body develop the following health hazards,Arsenic poisoning produces skin, liver and lung cancers, [7].The effects of cadmium are: dysfunction of the adrenal,anemia, hypertension, bone-marrow disorder, cancer, etc.,[8]. The victims accumulated about 500 - 600 mg of Cd intheir body over several years of consuming the contaminatedrice as their staplefood and finally succumbed due to the socalled Itai-Itai orOuch-Ouch, disease, [9].

Hexavalent chromium is found to be much more toxic thanthe trivalent chromium. Toxicity of chromium (Cr+3 andCr+6) in aquatic organisms is generally low and chromium isnot actually toxic to humans. However, Cr+6 is more toxicthan Cr+3 because of its high rate of absorption through

intestinal tracts, [10].

The liver is the main storage site for copper. The copper inliver is called hepatocuprein. Copper is also present in thekidneys, heart, bone-marrow and hair, [11].

Lead (Pb) can enter into the lungs through inhalation andinto the skin through mere contact. The common diseaseplumbism,occurs which causes intoxication, colicgastrointestinal disturbance, anemia, weakness in wrist andlegs and impaired functioning of central nervous system,[12].

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Mercury (Hg) is the most toxic heavy metal. Presence ofmercury in the human body causes enzyme inhibition,cellular dysfunction, neurological disorders, erethism andteratogenic effects. This mercury poisoning produced acrippling and often fatal disease called Minamata disease,[10].

Dermatitis or nickel-itch is common among workersinvolved in making nickel-containing jewelry and those

using nickel plated watches and nickel-containing detergents.Nickel dusts are reported to be carcinogenic, [9].

Zinc plays a vital role in plant nutrition; paddy grown in soilscontaining less than 20 ppm suffers from zinc deficiency.Soil containing Zn about 1000 ppm may be harmful to thepaddy plants. Ingestion of excessive amounts of cobaltcauses intercellular hypoxia and polycythemia. Chronicexposure of cobalt may lead to goiter, [13].

3.Previous WorkIn the study area, there are several agencies belonging to theState and Central Government organizations which

periodically take out survey related to water potential, waterquality and lithology of the region. The Public WorksDepartment (Ground Water Division), Tamilnadu Water andDrainage Board (TWAD) and Agricultural EngineeringDepartment periodically conductgeophysical survey invarious places of the study area. Further, every year thewater level fluctuations and water quality report wereprepared by the organizations like TWAD, PWD and CentralGround Water Board (CGWB). Apart from theseorganizations, the nearby Annamalai University EarthScience Department also published several research articlesabout the hydrogeological conditions of the area. The Centrefor Advance Studies in Marine Biology of AnnamalaiUniversity at Portnovo campus has also published several

M.Phil and Ph.D. Dissertation works related to pollution ofUppanar River.

The dissertation work entitled Environmental Pollution andits management in Cuddalore District, Tamilnadu is alsoprepared by one of the Post-Graduate students of Departmentof Environmental Sciences, Tamilnadu AgriculturalUniversity, Coimbatore. The discharge of SIPCOT industrialeffluents have been periodically monitored by the TamilnaduPollution Control Board (TNPCB).

4. MethodsThe Perumal lake and the river Uppanar lie on the eastern

side of the coastal district of Cuddalore of Tamilnadu State,India (Fig No: 1). Both the water bodies are found in the lowlying area, hence, they are perennial in nature. The PerumalLake is spread in the NW SE direction for a length of about11.5 km and shows the average width of about 1 km in theeast west direction. The river Uppanar is flowing very nearand almost parallel to the coast and finally it confluences inthe Bay of Bengal.

The Perumal Lake is the major recharge area for the riverUppanar. The Uppanar River also receives water from thecanals like Murattaru, Manambattan and Buckingham canalsfound on the southern side of the Uppanar River. The total

length of the river Uppanar is about 22 km. The study arealies between the East longitude of 79 37 - 79 47 andNorth latitude of 11 30 - 11 43 and falls in the Survey ofIndia toposheet of 58 M/10 & M/14.

Small and large scale SIPCOT industries were situated onthe banks of river Uppanar. Through inter-connectedupstream water ways, the Uppanar River is connected withPerumal Lake and the Perumal Lake receives water from

Paravanar River. The main source of water for riverParavanar is the water dischargedfrom mines of the NeyveliLignite Corporation (NLC), Neyveli.

With the help of the Survey of India topographic map of1:50,000 Scale, the study area base map has beenprepared.About 4 sediment samples (3 from Uppanar riverand 1 from Perumal lake) were totally collected in order tostudy the heavy metal concentration.

Figure 1: Study Area Location Map

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Figure 2: Map showing the sampling locations

In the Perumal Lake the sediment was collected from thenorthern portion of the lake and in the Uppanar River thesamples were collected in such a way as to cover the entireriver basin.

Geographic Information System (GIS) software is used tomark the sampling sites in the map (Fig No 2). By adoptingstandard procedures, [14] and by using modern and advancedinstrumentlike AAS the collectedsediment samples wereanalyzed in the laboratory. The results were fed into MS-Excel software to show the level of each metal concentrationin the form of bar diagrams.

5.ResultsThe result of sediment analysis of the Perumal lake and theUppanar river reveals that heavy metals were concentrated inthe order of Zn > Cr > Cu > Ni > Co. Soil samples represent

an excellent media to monitor heavy metal pollution becauseanthropogenic heavy metals are usually deposited in the topsoil, [15].

The plants absorb heavy metals from soil, water and air.However, the chief source of metal absorption is soil. Cropsand vegetables grown in soils contaminated with heavymetals demonstrated greater accumulation of heavy metalsthan those grown in uncontaminated soil, [16], [17].

The Perumal lake sediment shows the chromiumconcentration of about 45.8 mg/kg. In the Uppanar River, thechromium concentration of sediments was in the range of 16

- 43.4 mg/kg. The desirable limit of Cr in soil sample is 35mg/kg, [18].

The study reveals that the Perumal lake sediment shows thatthe Cr concentration was above the desirable limit of 35mg/kg. In the case of river Uppanar, the chromium heavymetal is distributed throughout the river basin and out of the3 sediment samples only one sample exceeded the desirablelimit and the other two sedimentsampleswere below the

desirable limit of chromium.

Further, from the study it is also revealed that the Perumallake sediment shows higher concentration (45.8 mg/kg) ofchromium than the Uppanar river sediments.

According to Kabata-Pendias A and Pendias H [19], 60 -125g/g Cu on total fractions in sediments would beconsidered toxic to plants. The Perumal lake sediment showsthe Cu concentration of 10.5 mg/kg and exceeds the toxiclimit of Cu. Uppanar River sediments, the metal Copper isfound in all the 3 locations and its range of concentration is5.31 - 23.5 mg/km. Out of the 3 sediment samples, only onesample showed that the copper concentration below the toxic

limit and the other 2 samples exceeded the toxic limit (

60g/g).

The desirable limit of nickel in soil is 20 mg/kg, [18]. ThePerumal lake sediment shows the nickel concentration ofabout 3.86 mg/kg, the value is below the desirable limit of Niconcentration.

In the Uppanar river sediments, the range of nickelconcentration is about 6.15 23.8 mg/kg. Out of the 3samples analyzed, two samples showed well above thedesirable limit (20 mg/kg) of nickel and only one sample wasbelow the desirable limit.

The Perumal lake sediment shows the Zn concentration ofabout 46.1 mg/kg. The Uppanar river sediments show thatthe Zn concentration is in the range of 37.5 131 mg/kg.

According to Kabata-Pendias A and PendiasH [19], 70 - 400g/g Zn on total fractions in soil would be considered toxicto plants. The sediments of Perumallake and all the 3sediment samples of Uppanar river show the Zn metalconcentration was above the toxic limit (70g/g).It is alsoobserved that the Uppanar river sediments showed higherconcentration of Zn than the Perumal lake sediment.

The desirable limit of Cobalt concentration in the soil is 10mg/kg [18]. The Perumal lake sediment sample shows the Cometal concentration of about 8.29 mg/kg.

One sediment sample analyzed for Co metal in the UppanarRiver shows that the concentration of Co is about 5.36mg/kg. The Perumallake and Uppanar river sediments showthe Cobalt concentration is well below the desirable limit.

The result of analysis of sediment samples of Perumal Lakeand Uppanar River have been represented in the Table No.1and 2. The distribution of heavy metals in the sedimentsamples were also shown in the form of MS Excel graph (FigNo. 3 & 4).

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Author Profile

Arul P: Qualification M. Sc (Geology), M.Sc. (EnvtMgt), M. Phil (Geology) & M. Phil (Envt Science) and

presently doing PhD Program. Published National,International level research papers and books in the

field of Ground water, Environmental Studies and ValueEducation.Recipient of State Environmental Award 2008 and

presently working as an Assistant Professor& Head/Geology.

Francis Lawrence J: Qualification M.Sc (Geology), M.Phil(Geology), PhD (Geology), Published several National andInternational level Papers, Research Supervisor for M.Phil and PhD

program, produced several M.Phil and Ph.D. Scholars, more than25 years teaching & research experience and presently working asan University Professor.

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a comparative study on heavy metal concentration in the sediments of perumallake and uppanar river...

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