Groundwater Contamination due to Heavy Metals and other Pollutants in Amritsar District of Punjab

Abstract

Punjab is facing a crisis situation due to high levels of uranium (U) and heavy metals in the underground water table of Punjab. Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), Punjab report on water quality monitoring and mitigation presents a deplorable situation about the current water quality scenario in Punjab. Out of a total of 874 habitations covered under this survey, 378 are found to be quality affected due to high contamination of arsenic, iron, aluminium, magnesium, nitrates and other basic parameters. Arsenic contamination dominates the scenario in Amritsar district with iron at number two in the list of heavy metal contaminants of groundwater. In addition to arsenic and iron, aluminium, magnesium, nitrate and fluoride are other pollutants of groundwater found above the permissible limits. The present report is based on the data collected by the Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department (PWSSD), Mohali, Punjab, India. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) has been used to measure the heavy metal contents of the groundwater samples of Amritsar district of Punjab (India).

Keywords: Groundwater, heavy metals, World Health Organization, acceptable limit, fluoride, nitrate

Cite this Article

Hardev Singh Virk. Groundwater Contamination due to Heavy Metals and other Pollutants in Amritsar District of Punjab. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology. 2019; 9(3): 19–28p.