1.34
NA: not available.
a Ramakrishna et al. (2002).
b BIS (1991).
c IS:10500.
Figure 2.9 Water quality index of the Kanwar wetland.
2.3.5 Sediment Quality
The sediment samples were analyzed for 15 parameters and compared with different sediment quality guidelines established by various agencies, which are summarized in Table 2.4.
2.3.6 Heavy Metal Contamination and Health Risk Index
The health risk assessment is directly associated with the level of human exposure of the various contaminants, especially heavy metals through different mediums including air, water, and food items. In this study, the heavy metals were also estimated in the aquatic species and most frequently cultivated vegetation species, i.e. sorghum, wheat, grains, and rice, and compared with the standard permissible limits and the previously reported values for the same crops (Table 2.5). Further, the HRI due to heavy metal contamination was calculated as per the standard formula (Khan et al. 2010; Singh et al. 2018) and the guidelines of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA 2006) for the cultivated crop grains of wheat, maize, and rice to understand the potential human health issues of the dependent population (Figure 2.10).
Table 2.4 Sediment quality parameters of the Kanwar wetland.
| Parameters | Current study | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical parameters | ||||||
| WHC (%) | 49.6–65.5 | |||||
| Bulk density (g/cc) | 0.77–0.86 | |||||
| pH | 6.5–8.76 | |||||
| Electrical conductivity (μS/Cm) | 115–136 | |||||
| Macronutrients | ||||||
| Organic carbon (%) | 0.14–2.7 | |||||
| Available N (mg/kg) | 1110–5831 | |||||
| Available P (mg/kg) | 79.1–665 | |||||
| Available K (mg/kg) | 89–1017 | |||||
| Available S (mg/kg) | 82.2–226.5 | |||||
| Micronutrients, i.e. heavy metals | Sediment quality guidelines | |||||
| GRSa | GDSb | UCCc | Ontario MoEd | USEPA | ||
| Cr (mg/kg) | 34–234 | 150 | 97 | 83 | 26–110 | 25–75 |
| Mn (mg/kg) | 217–1108 | 1715 | 1075 | 600 | 460–1100 | NA |
| Cu (mg/kg) | 14.6–118 | 55 | 25 | 25 | 16–110 | 25–50 |
| Zn (mg/kg) | 119–608 | 106 | 76 | 71 | 120–820 | 90–200 |
| Pb (mg/kg) | 15.6–223 | 23 | NA | 17 | 31–250 | NA |
| Cd (mg/kg) | 0–1.6 | 0.55 | NA | 0.098 | 0.6–10 |
NA
|
