Study of contamination of surface and ground water from organic micropollutants in India

Shelke, Sanket Anil (2022) Study of contamination of surface and ground water from organic micropollutants in India. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

Text (MS dissertation of Sanket Anil Shelke (17MS081)) 17MS081_Thesis_file.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (2MB)

Abstract

Groundwater is a vital source of freshwater for livelihoods, food security, and domestic and industrial requirements. As per the report of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI), a government-run think tank, nearly 70 percent of India’s freshwater resources, both ground and surface water, are contaminated. There are two types of freshwater micro-pollutants, the first one is geogenic and the other one is anthropogenic. The aim of this study is to understand the scale of organic micropollutants’ contamination in freshwater. Historically available data from different parts of India was organised and an extensive survey of available literature was conducted which reported the concentration of organic micropollutants in water matrices all over India, which included surface water(river), groundwater, industrial as well as domestic wastewater. The research papers were published from 1990 until recent. The mean of the reported concentrations of these chemicals were considered in this study. This study intended to find the trend in concentration of POPs and EOPs in the freshwater resources for the last few decades. From the literature survey, there were 38 locations from 11 states where the groundwater was contaminated with POPs like DDT, HCH and Endosulfan. Out of all the EOPs, Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) were the majorly detected pollutants. More than 30 PPCPs were detected across eight states. After studying trends of both POPs and EOPs in freshwater resources in India, it can be concluded that the POPs are showing a declining trend in their concentration since the last decade in both the surface and groundwater. Whereas, the EOPs are not flowing a clear trend but their contamination levels are alarming and can follow a rising trend as they are not regulated yet. By analysing the contrasting trends of POPs and EOPs, it can be inferred that this study is indicating towards the timeline of shifting from POPs contamination to EOPs contamination in surface and groundwater resources in India.

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