Heavy metal pollution reported by 75% of river monitoring stations
According to the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), 75% of river monitoring stations have reported heavy metal contamination.
According to the CSE report, dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals have been found in three out of every four river monitoring stations in India.
One-fourth of the monitoring stations expanded in 117 rivers and tributary areas reported high levels of two or more toxic metals.
Seven states and union territories are in danger. These are:
- Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements. They have more atomic weight. Also, their density is at least 5 times greater than the density of water.
- Toxic heavy metals include lead, iron, nickel, cadmium, arsenic, chromium and copper.
Causes of heavy metal pollution:
- Along with population growth, agricultural and industrial activities are also increasing.
- The mining, milling, plating and surface finishing industries release a variety of toxic metals into the environment.
Effects of exposure to heavy metals:
- Impact on health: Exposure to them gradually increases the physical, muscular and neurological degenerative processes. This increases the risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc.
- Impact on Environment: The biodegradable capacity of organic pollutants is affected. This makes them less weathering.
- Impact on Plants: Soil fertility is affected, the process of photosynthesis is disrupted etc.
In the year 2021, IIT Mandi developed a fibrous membrane filter using biopolymer-based materials to separate heavy metals from water samples.
Source – The Hindu
