Assessment of heavy metal in the water, sediment, and two edible fish species of Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration, India with special emphasis on human health risk

ABSTRACT

The city of Jamshedpur, nicknamed the “industrial capital of Jharkhand,” is one of the oldest industrial settlements in India, nestled amidst the mineral-rich Chota Nagpur plateau, with its diverse tribal population. Heavy metal contamination from industrialization and urbanization can pose a serious health risk to the resident population of the city. Metal concentrations in water and sediment of various water bodies (rivers, canals, and lakes) were determined using ICP-MS. Pollution indices indicate heavy metal contamination at Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration, mainly because of Cr (23–1111.6 mg/kg), Hg (0.08–4.11 mg/kg), and Pb (5.2–248 mg/kg). Labeo rohita and Punitus sarara, the two popular edible fishes, also have high concentration of Cr, Hg, and Pb. Health risk to human population due to consumption of metal contaminated edible fishes (L. rohita and P. sarara) was determined by target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI). THQ value of fish consumption (most popular protein supplement in the area) was found higher for Cr and Pb when compared with previous literature on fish consumption. Also, HI value ranged from 1.4 to 3.9, suggesting that the children have higher health risks than adults, due to consumption of metal contaminated fishes (especially L. rohita).

KEYWORDS:

• heavy metal
• ecological risk index
• Jamshedpur Urban Agglomeration
• hazard index
• fish consumption

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Babu Lal and Gobind Prasad Modi for providing help in the research work. The authors are indebted to department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad for providing laboratory facilities.

Funding

The authors are highly indebted to the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad for offering assistance in the form of scholarship and research grant to the first author (Preeti Kumari; Regd. no. 2015DR0197).