Arvind K. Nema

Heavy metals assessment in urban soil around industrial clusters in Ghaziabad, India: probabilistic health risk approach.

Metal contamination in the urban soil in the industrial city of Ghaziabad district was investigated. Spatial distribution of Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ni in the urban soil was produced. The mean Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ni contents in the urban topsoil samples (122, 288, 147, 0.4, 187, 386, 21,433 and 147mg/kg, respectively) were compared with the mean concentrations for other cities around the world. Cu, Cr, Pb, Zn and Ni concentrations appears to be higher than many other cities in the world. Non-cancer risk (Hazard Index) and cancer risk of children and adults due to exposure to the urban soil were estimated using 95th percentile values of total metal concentrations. Cluster analysis classified the sampling sites into three groups. Group 1 sites near commercial, industrial or dumpsite showed relatively higher concentrations of metals as compared to group 2 and 3 that were basically commercial or residential sites. It clearly indicates significant effects of rapid urbanization and industrialization in the last few decades in Ghaziabad. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis indicated common industrial source for Cu, Pb and Zn for group 1 sites. Cr may have point anthropogenic source. Except for Zn and Ni in group 2 sites, other metals may have come from natural sources while in group 3, all metals may have lithogenic source. Combined (ingestion, dermal and inhalation) hazard index (HI) values for children exceeded the safe level (HI=1) for Cr (2.21) and Pb (0.67) close to 1. Cancer risk due to Cr, Pb, Cd and Ni were within acceptable range (1E-06 to 1E-04).

Assessment of heavy metal contamination in Hindon River sediments: A chemometric and geochemical approach

The aim of this study was to assess the level of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the surface sediments of the Hindon River, India that receives both treated and untreated municipal and industrial discharges generated in and around Ghaziabad, India. Mean metals concentrations (mg kg(-1)) were in the range of; Cu: 21.70-280.33, Cd: 0.29-6.29, Fe: 4151.75-17318.75, Zn: 22.22.50-288.29, Ni: 13.90-57.66, Mn: 49.55-516.97, Cr: 17.48-33.70 and Pb: 27.56-313.57 respectively. Chemometric analysis was applied to identify contribution sources by heavy metals while geochemical approaches (enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index) were exploited for the assessment of the enrichment and contamination level of heavy metals in the river sediments. Chemometric analysis suggested anthropic origin of Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Ni while Fe showed lithogenic origin. Mn and Cr was associated and controlled by mixed origin. Geochemical approach confirms the anthropogenic influence of heavy metal pollution in the river sediments. The study suggests that a complementary approach that integrates chemometric analysis, sediment quality criteria, and geochemical investigation should be considered in order to provide a more accurate appraisal of the heavy metal pollution in river sediments. Consequently, it may serve to undertake and design effective strategies and remedial measures to prevent further deterioration of the river ecosystem in future.

Review of groundwater contamination hazard rating systems for old landfills

A large number of old uncontrolled landfills exist in developing countries. These are potentially harmful to the environment, especially with respect to groundwater contamination, and therefore, are in need of appropriate control and remedial measures. However, due to resource constraints, such measures are to be undertaken in a phased manner. An appropriate landfill hazard rating system that can evaluate relative groundwater contamination hazard of different sites is a useful tool for site ranking in order to set priorities. This paper reviews 18 existing hazard rating systems that follow the index function approach. Nine systems that are best representative of the existing systems, have been applied to six hazardous waste landfills as well as six municipal solid waste landfills. When used for ranking hazardous waste landfills, some systems such as HRS-1990, ERPHRS, WARM and RSS respond well whereas others like DRASTIC, NCS, NPC system and JENV system show a clustering effect. However, these rating systems do not perform well when applied to old municipal solid waste landfills. Even the HRS-1990, which is observed to be the most sensitive among all rating systems, exhibits some shortcomings. Improvements have been suggested in the waste quantity factor values of HRS-1990 to make it suitable for old municipal solid waste landfills. The improved system is observed to provide superior results in comparison with the existing systems, making it appropriate for use as a tool for ranking of old landfills in need of remediation and control measures.

Heavy metal contamination in vegetables grown around peri-urban and urban-industrial clusters in Ghaziabad, India

ABSTRACT Heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils resulting from rapid industrialization and urbanization is of great concern because of potential health risk due to dietary intake of contaminated vegetables. The present study aims to evaluate the status of heavy metals contamination of agricultural soils and food crops around an urban-industrial region in India. Transfer factor values of Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Zn, and Ni from soil to vegetable was estimated. The mean heavy metal concentrations (mg/kg) in agricultural soils (Cu: 17.8, Cr: 27.3, Pb: 29.8, Cd: 0.43, Zn: 87, Mn: 306.6, Fe: 16984, and Ni: 53.8) were within allowable concentrations for Indian agricultural soil. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, Zn, and Ni in crops/vegetables exceeded the World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization safe limits. Relative orders of transfer of metals from soil to edible parts of the crops/vegetables were Cd > Pb > Ni > Zn > Cu > Cr. The enrichment factors of heavy metals in soil indicated minor to moderately severe enrichment for Pb, Cd, and Ni; minor to moderate enrichment for Zn; no enrichment to minor enrichment for Mn; and no enrichment to moderate enrichment for Cu at different sites. Ecological risk index of soil showed considerable contamination in one of the wastewater irrigated sites.

Heavy Metals in Water, Sediments, and Aquatic Macrophytes: River Hindon, India

AbstractConcentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Zn, Pb, and Ni) were investigated in water, sediments, and aquatic macrophytes (Eichhornia crassipes and Nelumbo nucifera) collected from the River Hindon, India. Quantitative analysis of data and evaluation of potential ecological risk index (RI) indicated that the river Hindon is suffering from serious metal contamination. Statistical analyses (cluster analysis and correlation analysis) suggested that heavy metal pollution in the river originates from anthropogenic sources, especially industrial and urban discharges. The study also revealed that the heavy metals were selectively accumulated in different parts of the aquatic macrophytes. Metal translocation factor (MTF) estimation of Eichhornia and Nelumbo sp. highlighted their phyto-remediation potential (Cd, Mn, Pb, and Ni), the latter being an unexplored plant species for such studies.

Capacity planning for electronic waste management facilities under uncertainty: multi-objective multi-time-step model development.

Selection of optimum locations for locating new facilities and decision regarding capacities at the proposed facilities is a major concern for municipal authorities/managers. The decision as to whether a single facility is preferred over multiple facilities of smaller capacities would vary with varying priorities to cost and associated risks such as environmental or health risk or risk perceived by the society. Currently management of waste streams such as that of computer waste is being done using rudimentary practices and is flourishing as an unorganized sector, mainly as backyard workshops in many cities of developing nations such as India. Uncertainty in the quantification of computer waste generation is another major concern due to the informal setup of present computer waste management scenario. Hence, there is a need to simultaneously address uncertainty in waste generation quantities while analyzing the tradeoffs between cost and associated risks. The present study aimed to address the above-mentioned issues in a multi-time-step, multi-objective decision-support model, which can address multiple objectives of cost, environmental risk, socially perceived risk and health risk, while selecting the optimum configuration of existing and proposed facilities (location and capacities).

Evaluating Groundwater Contamination Hazard Rating of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in India and Europe Using a New System

AbstractUncontrolled municipal solid waste landfills potentially release harmful substances to the subsurface in the form of leachate, thus posing a significant hazard of groundwater contamination. The evaluation of groundwater contamination hazard posed by landfills is important for prioritizing them to undertake necessary pollution control and remedial measures in a phased manner. In this paper, a new groundwater contamination hazard rating system (HARAS), which has been presented in detail elsewhere, is applied to 11 municipal solid waste landfills—eight Indian and three European. The study shows that among the landfills studied, the Ghazipur, Okhla, and Bhalswa landfills in Delhi, the Kodungaiyur dumping ground in Chennai, the Pirana landfill in Ahmedabad, and the Dhapa landfill in Kolkata are categorized as “very high” hazard landfills, thereby indicating that these landfills are in urgent need of control and remedial measures. The study also shows that the Indian landfills pose a much greater hazard...

Global warming potential of waste management options: case study of Delhi

Municipal solid waste in developing nations like India is an area of major concern. The concerns associated with waste management are not only public health and safety but also for sustainable development. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be applied to assess the environmental sustainability of waste management systems. In the present study, global warming potential of various municipal waste management options was evaluated using LCA. The model was applied for a case study of Delhi (India). From the results of the study, it was found that the scenario of maximum diversion from sanitary landfill results in least impact to global warming.

Game Theory-Based Multistakeholder Planning for Electronic Waste Management

AbstractStakeholder decision making is needed for implementing policies that affect both initial purchase decisions of electronic gadgets and ultimate decisions about land disposal/recycling or storage of electronic waste. In consumer electronics, a long-term relationship between manufacturer and consumer might lead to contracts that create incentives for consumers to return used electronic gadgets. The result could be more effective economically and environmentally for involved stakeholders like manufacturers, consumers, and society as a whole. If a stakeholder can further obtain more profit through collaborating with others in some coalition, it will be preferred to collaborate rather than participating individually. This paper discusses the noncooperation as well as cooperation of stakeholders and gives a formulation for the calculation of their profits. After that, based on game theory, a scheme to decide which strategy is better suited, gaining the maximum profit, to a stakeholder and also the profit...

Phycoremediation: An Eco-friendly Algal Technology for Bioremediation and Bioenergy Production

Substantial amount of the refractory organics; inorganic nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus; heavy metals; etc. is discharged in conventional wastewater treatments. The concentration of such contaminants in the discharged wastewater depends on the performance and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Though further reduction in such contaminants is possible with an aid of some of the advance technologies and skilled manpower, it makes wastewater treatment more expensive. More importantly, the running and maintenance of WWTPs are uncommon in economically weaker countries especially in the rural areas. This leads to the hunt of economically viable and environmentally sustainable alternative wastewater treatments. The truism nowadays is to recognize the emergence of phycoremediation as an alternative. Algae-based bioremediation has been found excellent for the nutrient, organic, pathogen, heavy metal, etc. removal from various types of wastewater. Green microalgae possess the unique potential of high photosynthetic activity compared to food crops and terrestrial plants. Therefore, such systems are capable of high biomass production through CO2 sequestration from the air and nutrient and organic sequestration from water. The microalgal cells contain comparatively high lipid contents; thus, algal biomass serves as an excellent feedstock for biofuels. Therefore, the choice of algal species possessing excellent phytoremediation potential as well as capable of producing high biomass is important to consider while designing the phycoremediation-based treatment systems. In this chapter, a concise partial overview of the potential and uniqueness of phycoremediation in treating various types of water and production of algal biomass for biofuels has been discussed. The environmental sustainability and economic viability aspects of phycoremediation, factors influencing the wastewater treatment, and the limitations of such technologies are covered briefly.