Abstract
The term 'heavy metal' is often used to cover a diverse range of elements which constitute an important class of pollutants. Such pollutants have received the attention of researchers all over the world, mainly due to their harmful effects on living beings. Human biology is full of instances where heavy metal toxicity has led to mass deaths. Heavy metals enter into the environment mainly via three routes: (i) deposition of atmospheric particulates, (ii) disposal of metal enriched sewage sludges and sewage effluents and (iii) by-products from metal mining processes. The estimation of metal input into environment from the two latter sources is relatively easy to measure. However, atmospheric input is difficult to quantify accurately mainly due to atmospheric mixing of metal-bearing particulates and the diversity of metals and metal-emitting sources which contribute to the overall atmospheric metal pool.
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