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Bull Eng Geol Env (2001) 60: 31–35 7 Q Springer-Verlag 31

Effect of wastewaterdisposal and extentof industrial pollutionin and around Kanpur,Uttar Pradesh, IndiaR.P. Singh

Received: 24 June 2000 7 Accepted: 29 August 2000

R.P. SinghDepartment of Geology, Banaras Hindu University,Varanasi 221 005, Indiae-mail: rpsingh6banaras.ernet.in

Abstract Kanpur City has become a large industrial

complex with nearly 800 industries. This hasincreased the social and economic status of the city,but these industries are also causing severe environ-mental pollution. In addition to smoke, dust andpollutant gases, water pollution through thedischarge of industrial effluents is causing severeproblems. The pollutants include As, Cr, Cd, Cu, Fe,Hg, Pb and Zn, which are considered as toxicants.The presence of various ions, such as Fe 2c, Ca2c,Mg2c, Cl– and SO4

–, significantly changes the watercharacteristics, including its ability to stain, its hard-ness and salinity. The presence of some other oxid-izing and reducing agents, such as ammonia, nitrite,

nitrate and sulphate, causes problems such as deple-tion of oxygen, foul odour and microbial growth.The extent of pollutants in the wastewater dischargefrom different types of industries and the hazards of these pollutants in wastewater are discussed.

Résumé La ville de Kanpur est devenue un grandcomplexe industriel avec près de 800 industries. Sonstatut social et industriel s’est trouvé relevé. Cepen-dant ces industries génèrent une importante pollu-tion. En plus de la pollution de l’air par les poussiè-res des fumées et les gaz nocifs, la pollution de l’eaurésultant de divers effluents industriels cause de

sérieux problèmes. Les polluants comprennent As,Cr, Cd, Fe, Hg, Pb et Zn, qui sont considérés commetoxiques. La présence de divers ions, tels que Fe 2c,Ca2c, Mg2c, Cl– et SO4

–, modifie les caractéristiques

de l’eau de façon significative, sa dureté et sa salinité.

La présence d’autres agents oxydants ou réducteurs,tels que ammoniac, nitrites, nitrates et sulfates, causedes problèmes liés à la réduction de l’oxygènedissout, à des odeurs nauséabondes et des dévelop-pements microbiens. L’importance de ces polluantsdans les eaux rejetées par différentes industries et lesrisques correspondants sont discutés dans cetarticle.

Keywords Wastewater 7 Contamination 7 Surfacewater 7 Oxygen depletion 7 Waste disposal

Mots clés Eaux usées 7 Contamination 7 Eaux de

surface 7 Oxygène dissout 7 Déchets

Introduction

Kanpur is one of the important industrial centres innorthern India, where nearly 800 industries are involved inmanufacturing. Products known over the entire Asianregion vary from textiles and leather goods to chemicals,fertilizers and drugs as well as cold drinks and edibles.Engineering and thermal power plants are also important

and the number of industries in the city is growingsteadily, as shown in Table 1. As a consequence, between1975 and 1995 the population of the city increased by morethan half while the number of factory workers doubled.The large number of industries has clearly contributed tothe economic growth of Kanpur and the social–economicstatus of the city has been raised. However, these indus-tries are discharging huge amounts of smoke and gaseouspollutants which, with the dust already present, are causingserious health hazards. In addition to this air pollution,wastewater disposal from the various industries is causinghigh levels of water contamination as effluents are



R.P. Singh

32 Bull Eng Geol Env (2001) 60: 31–35 7 Q Springer-Verlag

Table 1Type and number of industries in and around Kanpur. (Source:Directorate of Industries, Kanpur)

Types of industry No. of units

1975 1995

Mills 24 35

Spinning and ginning 22 30Leather 48 56Metal engineering goods 46 60Chemical and plastic 58 75Printing and publishing 48 65Wood and cardboard 29 40Electrical accessories 19 30Fertilizers 1 1Ordnance 1 1Pharmaceuticals 4 8Miscellaneous 250 350Total 535 801

discharged through sewage pipes directly into the RiverGanga. The present study was undertaken to determine theextent and nature of various pollutants in the wastewaterdischarge of the different types of industries and theirharmful effects.

Wastewater pollutants

The extent of pollutants present in the wastewater variesaccording to both the source of the effluent and theprecautions taken within the manufacturing plant before it

is discharged.1. The industries involved in metal cleaning, plating,

tanning, textiles, battery making, pickling and refiningproduce chemical pollutants such as As, Cr, Cd, Cu, Fe,Hg, Pb and Zn. These are considered primary toxicantsand are present at much higher concentrations thanthose permitted by WHO guidelines.

2. The discharge of acids and alkaline materials from thetextile, coal-fuelled and chemical industries disrupts thepH buffer system of the natural water, reducing itspotential to kill harmful micro-organisms.

3. The presence of Fe2c, Ca2c, Mg2c, Cl– and SO4

– inwastewater from the metallurgical, cement and ceramic

industries changes the nature of the water into whichthey are discharged, affecting its staining characteristics,hardness and salinity.

4. Various oxidizing and reducing agents, such as theammonia, nitrite, nitrate and sulphate discharged fromthe fertilizer, textile and dyeing industries, alter thechemical balance of the wastewater and cause problemswith rapid oxygen depletion, etc. This not only decreases the nutritional value of the water but alsocauses foul odours and microbial growth.

5. The large amount of soluble carbohydrates from sugarrefining and discharges from distilleries, tanneries, milk

processing, pulping, paper making and textile millscontain quantities of bio-oxidizables which increase theBOD level.

6. The wastewater discharges from poultry processing,wood processing and tanning contain large amounts of pathogenic organisms.

7. Huge volumes of raw sewage are discharged into themain streams. These sewage wastes and industrialeffluents undoubtedly contribute to water pollution.

The intensity of the pollution depends upon the volume of the effluents discharged and their characteristics. Figures 1and 2 show the location of different industries withinKanpur City. A rough estimate of the amount of waste-water discharged from an industry can be made from anassessment of the volume of water required per unitproduced and the total production in the factory. It is esti-mated that chemical factories have a water requirement of up to 1,200 m3/t, pulp and paper industries 300–500 m3/tand vegetable canning, sugar refining, milk processing andbaking some 6–12 m3/t.

Effects of wastewater disposal

Textile mills are the largest sources of pollution in the city,contaminating both the air and the water by discharginginto the River Ganga. The highest amounts of BOD occurin “grey preparations” and the lowest in yarn dyeing(220 mg/l), while the highest alkalinity is associated withbleaching (600 mg/l) as the increased use of chemicalsresults in de-oxygenation and anaerobic conditions.Chemical industries discharge various types of metal pollu-

tants as well as organic and inorganic material. The levelsof As, Pb, Zn and Hg sometimes reach unacceptableconcentrations for aquatic and human life. The BOD variesfrom 85–310 mg/l which is above the accepted thresholdsand can cause cattle poisoning and destroy fish. Tannery waste originates from both the beam house and thetanyard. The effluent from the processing of leatherincludes salts, blood, calcium, sulphates and chromium. Asa result of the use of various organic and inorganic chemi-cals, the BOD from this source may have concentrations of up to 6,000–7,000 mg/l. The pH is also high (8–13) due tothe caustic alkalinity which results from sodium sulphate.This causes fungal plant diseases and contaminated irriga-

tion water, which is a risk to human health.Thermal power plants consume large volumes of water inthe generation of electricity and discharge large amountsof smoke, dust particles and SO2. Pollution from thissource may originate from the chemical and physical treat-ment of boiler feed or from water used to clean the boilerswhich is contaminated with both heavy metals and acids.Solids suspended in the discharged water may also contri-bute to the contamination. Dry cleaners and automobileservicing centres also use large quantities of water, whichis discharged directly into sewers despite being contami-nated with a high level of BOD, oil, grease and alkalis.



Effects of pollution, Kanpur


Fig. 1Kanpur industrial land use (ward-wise) for 1995

The Kanpur co-operative dairy processing unit uses100,000 l of milk per day and manufactures butter andghee. The main source of water pollution in these indus-tries is associated with bottle filling, can washing and thecooling towers.

The characteristics of the wastewater obtained from thedifferent sources have been tested to analyse the level of pollution. The results indicated that the variation in pHvalues in the different samples (from 5–14) was directly related to the high alkalinity. Chloride concentration wasalso high, although not as great as the BOD levels whichvaried from 1,500–3,000 mg/l. Many of the metals, acids,alkalis, phenols, alcohols, arsenic and numerous otherproducts and byproducts from the industrial operationsare toxic to animals and man and could cause damage to



R.P. Singh

34 Bull Eng Geol Env (2001) 60: 31–35 7 Q Springer-Verlag

Fig. 2Kanpur distribution of industries

Table 2Characteristics of industrial wastewater in and around Kanpur

Industry pH BOD COD Suspended solids (SS) Pollutants(mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l)

Textile mills 8–12 200–600 300–1600 100–2,500 High BOD detergents, carbonate, alkalisand other chemicals

Chemicals 7–9 85–300 – 20–90 Metals, high toxicantsTannery 8–12 6,000–7,000 – 3,000–3,300 High BOD, SS, chromium, foul odour and

colourFertilizer 8–10 30–50 300–350 3,000–3,700 Depletion of oxygen, toxic owing to free

NH3

Milk bottling 5–14 1,500–3,000 500–3000 600–1,000 Very high pH, BOD, SS and putrescibilityDistillery 4–6 26,000–29,000 60,000–65,000 3,000–4,000 Low pH, very high BOD and SSSugar 7–8 600–1,000 65–100 1,500–1,800 Foul odour, high pH and SSStraw-board 7–12 1,500–2,000 4,000–5,000 2,500–3,000 High pH, BOD and SSMotor servicing stations 7–9 100–300 – 20–80 Oil and grease, BOD and alkalinity

health or even death. It is estimated that 50% of factory workers and 30% of the total population in and aroundKanpur may be affected, while vertebrate, invertebrate andaquatic life suffers damage to the liver, kidneys, reproduc-

tive and nervous systems. The characteristics of industrialwastewater in and around Kanpur are shown in Table 2.Steps are being taken to mitigate the problem. Industrialeffluents rich in toxic elements including pesticides anddetergents are subjected to physicochemical treatment-adsorption on activated carbon neutralization, thermal

reduction and ion exchange. Intense nuclear radiationgenerating highly reactive free radicals in water eliminatestrace organic and inorganic pollutants including pesticidesand pathogens (Krishnamurthy 1980).

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassifer ), which doubles itsbiomass every 8 days, is capable of clearing up metals by absorbing Cd, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu and Fe present within thewastewater (Bhattacharjee 1983). Today it covers 25–40%of the water courses in Kanpur and is used for generatingbiogas and for making cement boards and paper.



Effects of pollution, Kanpur


Aquifer

The nature and position of the geological horizons controlthe occurrence and movement of the ground water.Ground water occurs in the pore spaces of the unconsoli-dated alluvium. Examination of the borehole data for thearea around Kanpur indicates that it is underlain by a

thick clay formation with sand, silty, kankar and gravel.The depth of the aquifer varies from 35–75 m and wateroccurs in both confined and unconfined conditions. Unfor-tunately, municipal and domestic sewage finds its way tothe aquifer as a result of infiltration. The shallow aquifershows a cyclic rise in nitrate content from 5–45 ppm andlocally even 70 ppm, sodium 15–175 ppm, chloride up to180 ppm and bicarbonate 300–900 ppm. Industrial efflu-ents containing cyanide (1–8 mg/l), chromium (2–3 mg/l),arsenic (0.04–0.07 mg/l) and lead (0.03–0.06 mg/l) havealso infiltrated into the aquifer. These are high concentra-tions, although still within the tolerance limit (Baweja1982). Thousands of people in and around Kanpur are

affected with the crippling bone disease fluorosis as aresult of the excessive fluoride content of the well water.Agarwal et al. (1982) report levels of 12 ppm, while Handa(1983) records the ground water in a well dug at Kanpur tohave concentrations of: cobalt 110 mg/l, molybdenum20–50 mg/l, copper 10–100 mg/l and zinc 50–200 mg/l.

Conclusions

The different types of pollutants present in the wastewaterdischarged from the industrial development are causing

serious health problems for the inhabitants in and aroundKanpur City due to ineffective treatment plants. The waterof the River Ganga is becoming seriously contaminated by

toxic metals. These pollutants not only affect the surfacewater, making it unsuitable for drinking and irrigation, butalso contaminate the ground water due to infiltration intothe aquifers. The smaller industries are discharging theirwastewater neither into the River Ganga nor into thecanals but into open ponds and this is causing seriousproblems for local inhabitants.This paper indicates that the contaminated wastewaterscontain pathogenic bacteria and viruses which are a threatto human health. The situation is alarming and must beremedied by putting restrictions on the industries andrequiring them to treat their wastewater before discharge.Failing this, nearly 30% of the population in and aroundKanpur City may suffer from water-borne diseases such astyphoid, bacillary dysentery, amoebic dysentery, botulism,poliomyelitis, hepatitis, fluorosis, skin disease and cancer.

References

Agarwal A, Chopra R, Shukla K (1982) The State of India’sEnvironment Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi,p 189

Baweja BK (1982) Effect of urbanisation and industrial waste onground water regime in Kanpur metropolitan area, U.P. In:Singhal BBS (ed) Engineering geosciences. Sarita Prakashan,Meerut, pp 143–155

Bhattacharjee A (1983) You cannot fight that weed, can you?Ecoforum 8(1) :12–19

Handa BK (1983) The occurrence of trace elements in naturalwater of Uttar Pradesh. In: Proc Seminar Application Develop-ment Management Ground water Resource, Central GroundWater Board, New Delhi, pp 239–304

Krishnamurthy K (1980) Potential role of intense ionising

radiation sources in municipal sludge management and envi-ronmental protection In: Patel B (ed) Management of environ-ment. Wiley Eastern, New Delhi, pp 149–169

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