Evaluation of groundwater quality and heavy metal pollution index of the industrial area, Chennai

Abstract

In this present investigation, sixteen sampling locations were selected around the Chrompet area, Chennai, which serves as a hub of a large number of tanning industries. The water in this location was contaminated as a result of these industrial operations. Solid waste as of industrial units is being dumped near the factories. This reacts with percolating rainwater and reaches the groundwater. A large number of Heavy Metals (HMs) have been picked up by the percolating water, which reaches the aquifer system and the groundwater gets contaminated. The water quality evaluation of sixteen samples was executed for various toxic HMs like chromium, cadmium, nickel, iron, lead, and manganese. From the outcomes, the HM's concentration followed the order of Cd > Pb > Cr > Ni > Mn > Fe. The outcomes of the analysis were also utilized for computing the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) along with the metal Index (MI) of the study area. The HPI and MI are useful instruments for evaluating water quality regarding HM contamination. An index value of more than 100 has been considered the critical value. The critical state of the pollution index was observed in sample 10 and the calculated index was 586.68. This value shows that in the study region, the quality of water was seriously affected, and overall, 75% of the water sample was under this category. The average MI of the collected samples is 20.67, which is also higher than the crucial limit of 1. The result of the investigation shows that the industrial activities in the study region had an important impact on the water in the area. As a result, adequate control measures must be implemented to avoid the water in this area from deteriorating further.