Studies on Heavy Metal Pollution of Karnaphuli River, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Abstract

The Karnaphuli, a major river of Bangladesh, is polluted in several ways particularly through industrial and sewage disposal. Increased anthropogenic activities have increased the potential pollution of the river, especially, the heavy metal pollutants which may be toxic to humans and aquatic fauna. Presence of heavy metals in the river water causes perilous impact on the aquatic organisms. Hence, regular monitoring of pollution levels in the river is indispensable. The present study dealt with the heavy metals distribution viz. Cadmium (Pb),Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb) and Nickel (Ni) in water of Karnaphuli River during rainy and winter seasons. Four stations were selected for collection of water samples in different locations. Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) analysis of water sample of four discharge points reveals that the concentration of Lead (Pb) may be very low as AAS could not detect the amount present in the water samples, whereas, that of Nickel (Ni) and Cadmium (Cd) were comparatively high. Chromium (Cr) was detected relatively low throughout the study period. The concentration of heavy metals showed seasonal variation and it was higher in winter season than rainy season in most of the station.