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Geo-Accumulation Indices of Heavy Metals in Soil and Groundwater of Kanpur, India Under Long Term Irrigation of Tannery Effluent

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Abstract

Soil and groundwater from long-term (>50 years) tannery effluent irrigated areas of Kanpur were analyzed and significant buildup of heavy metals such as Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, and As in the range of 252–972, 23–30, 2.3–14.1, 23.7–58.8, 138–338 and 6.8–11 mg kg−1, respectively in soil was found. Few groundwater samples in the effluent irrigated areas also exhibited high Cr concentration above the permissible limit of United States Environmental Protection Agency. The tannery effluents contained 1.53–57.3 ppm Cr, 0–0.12 ppm Ni, 0–0.02 ppm Cd, 0–0.07 ppm Pb, 0–0.48 ppm Zn and 0–0.03 ppm As. The Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) revealed that soil samples were unpolluted to moderately polluted with Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb and As; moderately polluted in case of Cd; and heavily to extremely polluted by Cr.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are highly thankful to supporting staff of the Division of Environmental Soil Science, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal for necessary help during the study. Authors are also thankful to Dr. S. R. Mohanty for valuable comments. This study is a part of the project “Tannery constituent interaction effect on spinach” and funded by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal (Grant No. IXX07989).

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  1. ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabi Bagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal, 462 038, India

    M. L. Dotaniya, V. D. Meena, S. Rajendiran, M. Vassanda Coumar, J. K. Saha, S. Kundu & A. K. Patra

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  1. M. L. Dotaniya
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  2. V. D. Meena
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  3. S. Rajendiran
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  4. M. Vassanda Coumar
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  5. J. K. Saha
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  6. S. Kundu
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  7. A. K. Patra
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Correspondence to M. L. Dotaniya.

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Dotaniya, M.L., Meena, V.D., Rajendiran, S. et al. Geo-Accumulation Indices of Heavy Metals in Soil and Groundwater of Kanpur, India Under Long Term Irrigation of Tannery Effluent. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 98, 706–711 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-1983-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-1983-4

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