{"title":"Assessment of Drain Water Used for Irrigation in the Delhi Region.","authors":"Deepak Gola, Arghya Bhattacharya, Priyadarshini Dey, Anushree Malik, Shaikh Ziauddin Ahammad","doi":"10.5696/2156-9614-10.26.200610","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Industries such as electroplating, mining and battery production are major sources of heavy metal-rich waste entering nearby water bodies. Irrigation with heavy metal contaminated water can deteriorate soil quality as well as agricultural produce and have further toxic effects on human health.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The objective of the present study was to estimate the concentration of hazardous heavy metals such as chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb), as well as physico-chemical variables (pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen) at sampling locations along the Najafgarh and Loha mandi drains in Delhi, National Capital Region, India.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The present study evaluated the quality of wastewater from the Najafgarh and Loha mandi drains, which are used for irrigational purposes in the Delhi region. Drain water quality was monitored for a period of 2 years for physico-chemical variables (pH, chemical oxygen demand, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen) as well as heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, Ni and Pb). The two-year monitoring period (July 2012-March 2014) was chosen to represent three seasons: pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Varied concentrations of multiple heavy metals were found due to the extensive discharge of untreated industrial effluents into the drain water. Punjabi Bagh of Najafgarh drain was the most contaminated sampling site with the maximum concentration of Zn (12.040 ± 0.361 mg L<sup>-1</sup>), followed by Cr (2.436 ± 0.073mg L<sup>-1</sup>) and Cu (2.617 ± 0.078 mg L<sup>-1</sup>).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Consumption of heavy metal-contaminated agricultural products can cause deleterious human health effects, leading to further health problems. The presence of multi-heavy metal ions above the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) permissible limits indicated that drain water was not suitable for irrigational purposes, and adequate measures are required to remove the heavy metal load from drain water.</p><p><strong>Competing interests: </strong>The authors declare no competing financial interests.</p>","PeriodicalId":52138,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health and Pollution","volume":"10 26","pages":"200610"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2020-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7269328/pdf/","citationCount":"13","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Health and Pollution","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-10.26.200610","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2020/6/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 13
Abstract
Background: Industries such as electroplating, mining and battery production are major sources of heavy metal-rich waste entering nearby water bodies. Irrigation with heavy metal contaminated water can deteriorate soil quality as well as agricultural produce and have further toxic effects on human health.
Objectives: The objective of the present study was to estimate the concentration of hazardous heavy metals such as chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb), as well as physico-chemical variables (pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen) at sampling locations along the Najafgarh and Loha mandi drains in Delhi, National Capital Region, India.
Methods: The present study evaluated the quality of wastewater from the Najafgarh and Loha mandi drains, which are used for irrigational purposes in the Delhi region. Drain water quality was monitored for a period of 2 years for physico-chemical variables (pH, chemical oxygen demand, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen) as well as heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, Ni and Pb). The two-year monitoring period (July 2012-March 2014) was chosen to represent three seasons: pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon.
Results: Varied concentrations of multiple heavy metals were found due to the extensive discharge of untreated industrial effluents into the drain water. Punjabi Bagh of Najafgarh drain was the most contaminated sampling site with the maximum concentration of Zn (12.040 ± 0.361 mg L-1), followed by Cr (2.436 ± 0.073mg L-1) and Cu (2.617 ± 0.078 mg L-1).
Conclusions: Consumption of heavy metal-contaminated agricultural products can cause deleterious human health effects, leading to further health problems. The presence of multi-heavy metal ions above the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) permissible limits indicated that drain water was not suitable for irrigational purposes, and adequate measures are required to remove the heavy metal load from drain water.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Health and Pollution (JH&P) was initiated with funding from the European Union and World Bank and continues to be a Platinum Open Access Journal. There are no publication or viewing charges. That is, there are no charges to readers or authors. Upon peer-review and acceptance, all articles are made available online. The high-ranking editorial board is comprised of active members who participate in JH&P submissions and editorial policies. The Journal of Health and Pollution welcomes manuscripts based on original research as well as findings from re-interpretation and examination of existing data. JH&P focuses on point source pollution, related health impacts, environmental control and remediation technology. JH&P also has an interest in ambient and indoor pollution. Pollutants of particular interest include heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air particulates (PM10 and PM2.5), and other severe and persistent toxins. JH&P emphasizes work relating directly to low and middle-income countries, however relevant work relating to high-income countries will be considered on a case-by-case basis.