Abstract
The present study deals with quantification of accumulated toxic heavy metals in sediments of Mithi River of Mumbai. The study was performed at three different sampling locations along the flow of Mithi River for two years from 2009-12. The different heavy metals studied were Al, As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sr and Mn. The results of our study indicate that the concentration level of these toxic heavy metals for the two assessment years increases by the factor of 1.2-5.8 µg/g. The result is a clear indication of day by day increasing pollution level of the Mithi River, which is creating negative environmental impact on biological life of the river. The results emphasises the need of regular scientific monitoring of different pollutants adversely affecting the environment and to reframe the pollution control strategies already in existence.
Highlights
Among the inorganic contaminants of the river water, heavy metals are getting importance for their non-degradable nature and often accumulate through tropic level causing adeleterious biological effect
Anthropogenic activities like mining, ultimate disposal of treated/untreated waste effluents containing toxic metals as well as metal chelates[3] from different industries and the indiscriminate use of heavy metal containing fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture resulted in deterioration of water quality rendering serious environmental problems posing threat on human beings[4] and sustaining aquatic biodiversity[5,6]
Behaviour of these metals in the coastal marine sediments is largely related to their capacity for complexation with organic matter in truly dissolved, colloidal, macro particulate phases. These metals entering the ecosystem may lead to geoaccumulation, bioaccumulation, biomagnification and may have possibilities for environmental transformation into more toxic form. These toxic heavy metals entering in aquatic environment are adsorbed onto particulate matter, they can form free metal ions and soluble complexes that are available for uptake by biological organisms[15] or get deposited in estuarine sediments[16]
Summary
Among the inorganic contaminants of the river water, heavy metals are getting importance for their non-degradable nature and often accumulate through tropic level causing adeleterious biological effect. Due to their particle reactivity, metals tend to accumulate in sediments, and, as a result, may persist in the environment long after their primary source has been removed These toxic metals are not necessarily fixed by the sediments permanently, but may be recycled via biological and chemical agents both within the sedimentary compartment as well as in the water column. Behaviour of these metals in the coastal marine sediments is largely related to their capacity for complexation with organic matter in truly dissolved, colloidal, macro particulate phases. Once deposited, binding by sulphides and/or iron hydroxides immobilizes trace metals until a change in redox or pH
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