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Potential Ecological Impacts of Heavy Metals in Sediments of Industrially Contaminated Perennial Drain of India

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Abstract

Globally, heavy metal contamination of natural waterways and surrounding environments due to anthropogenic activities has become a grave cause of concern. Therefore, the present study was conducted to analyze the ecological risk posed by heavy metals in sediment samples (N = 24) collected from different depths of Budha Nalah drain located in Ludhiana (Punjab, India). The concentration of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were found to be above the maximum permissible limits for metals in soils and sediments, which was attributed to anthropogenic activities (industrialization, urbanization and agriculture). The values observed for Contamination Factor, Enrichment Factor and Pollution Load Index revealed that sediment samples were highly contaminated by As, Cd, Cr and Pb. The ecological Risk Index (range: 212–1566) and Modified Risk Index (range: 2793–12,182) values indicated that high concentrations of metals (especially As, Cd, Cr and Pb) posed severe ecological risks in the areas around the drain.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for providing financial assistance in the form of project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India

    Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal

  2. Punjab Remote Sensing Center, Ludhiana, India

    Raj K. Setia

  3. Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India

    Sandip Singh Bhatti

  4. Department of Zoology, Khalsa College, Amritsar, India

    Jaswinder Singh

Authors
  1. Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal
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  2. Raj K. Setia
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  3. Sandip Singh Bhatti
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  4. Jaswinder Singh
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Contributions

SSD was involved in conception and design of sampling, the chemical analysis, acquisition interpretation of data, drafting of the manuscript and overall supervision. RS was involved in remote sensing analysis and drafting of the manuscript. SSB was involved in statistical analysis and drafting of the manuscript. JS was involved in revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content.

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Correspondence to Salwinder Singh Dhaliwal.

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Dhaliwal, S.S., Setia, R.K., Bhatti, S.S. et al. Potential Ecological Impacts of Heavy Metals in Sediments of Industrially Contaminated Perennial Drain of India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 106, 949–958 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03260-1

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