Vol. 12, Issue 2 (2023)

Author(s):
Ayashi Sachan, Ran Vijay Singh, Bhavana Gupta, Rashmi Kulesh, Vandana Gupta and Ankur Khare

Abstract:
Heavy metal pollution is a serious problem for the environment due to their toxicity, bioaccumulation and bio magnification property. It can occur from different natural and anthropogenic sources. The mobilization of these heavy metals to the aquatic ecosystem alters the physicochemical property of water which is hazardous for aquatic water ecosystem. They mainly enter the fish body through gills, body surface and digestive tract during ingestion of metal accumulated food materials. Cadmium, chromium, nickel, arsenic, copper, mercury, lead and zinc are the most common heavy metal pollutants that cause severe toxicity in fishes. In this study, a total of 252 samples from various water sources were collected and screened. The study revealed that presence of cadmium-69.80%, chromium-72.60% and nickel-78.17%. The concentrations were found between 0-0.066 ppm, 0.004-0.269 and 0.006-0.192 ppm of Cd, Cr and Ni respectively. The findings indicates poor sanitary practices and effluents contamination in water resources and thus, there is a need of immediate preventive and corrective measures to preserve the wholesome quality of water.