Authors: Lubna Shakir Sohail Ejaz Muhammad Ashraf Nisar Ahmad Aqeel Javeed
Publish Date: 2011/08/09
Volume: 19, Issue: 2, Pages: 492-501
Abstract
Over the last few decades the chromiumbased tanning industry has shown rapid growth in Pakistan However the rules and regulations promulgated by the government are not strictly followed for processing the effluent discharge from the tanneries Consequently tannery effluents have become a great source of water pollution in surrounding areasThe concentrations of calcium Ca chlorine Cl chromium Cr iron Fe potassium K Mg sulfur S silicon Si and Sr in TW were significantly higher than SW and DW which also exceeded the international limits In addition increased concentrations of major toxic elements Cl Cr Fe K Ni and Si were also observed in SW which were higher in comparison to DW Strikingly the concentrations of Cr and Si in various DW samples were also beyond World Health Organization WHO safe limit which reinforced the trend that water pollution in the area is directly linked to the distance from the source TW The particleinduced Xray emission PIXE indices also suggested that TW is a main contributory source of waterbased pollution in the area which is imposing great threat to local inhabitants due to known hazardous and carcinogenic potential of these elementsProtecting the water resources will be a formidable challenge in the study area which requires modernization of tannery industry thereby improving the recovery and recycling of TW Moreover PIXE analysis presented here as a successful tool could serve as landmark for the contemporary research in environmental toxicology
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