Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development

S Nandi ¹, C Srivastava ¹, K M Agarwal ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Environmental Science, All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health, Kolkata, IN
2 Environment Management Deptt, IISWBM, IN

Abstract

The East Calcutta Wetlands in India present a somewhat distinctive case where untreated sewage water from the city of Kolkata positioned upstream has been used for decades in downstream agriculture and fisheries. East kolkata wetland has high ecological significance also as it has been a home for other combine biodiversities. This wetland is highly polluted due to the rapid industrialization, urbanization and dumping of solid waste. The water quality of the East Kolkata wetland has been studied with reference to toxic heavy metals. The metals analyzed include lead, chromium, mercury, nickel and cadmium. The heavy metal analysis in surface waters were in the following range ; Cd : 1.19 mg l-1, Ni : 7mg l-1, Pb : 0.15 mg l-1, and Cr : 0.09mg l-1 Hg: BDL respectively. The dominance of various heavy metals in the surface waters of the East Kolkata Wetland various anthropogenic activities. Most of the metal ions were in higher concentration compared to the standards. It has been observed that the quality of the surface water is not safe for aquatic and domestic life, hence necessary management actions should be taken to control the quality of the surface water.

Keywords

East Kolkata Wetland, Surface Water, Heavy Metal, Ramasar Site, Water Pollution

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