Abstract

EFFECT OF TRACE METALS DISTRIBUTION ON SOME GREEN PLANTS AND GROUND WATER/ SOIL COLUMNS IN ARIYALUR CEMENT INDUSTRIAL ZONES

S. Ramesh and S. Ahmed John*

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of the cement’s dust and waste released by the cement industries and find the influences of cement waste on the ground water, surface and bottom soil, and two different plant samples of Ariyalur cement industrial zones (V.Kaikatti - S1, Keelapazhur - S2 and Kallankuruchi - S3) with in1.5 km approximately. For control study, the samples were collected form Jamal Mohammed College (C1), Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. The physiochemical (pH, EC, TDC, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, CO2 -, HCO-, Cl- and SO4 2-) and trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) were analyzed from the water and soil samples, and the phytochemical (total chlorophyll, Chlorophyll a and b, total carotenoids, free amino acids, soluble sugars, phenols and lipids) and trace metals were studied from plant samples. The ranges of EC in surface sediment and bottom sediment of study area were 449.4 – 828.6 μs/cm and 343.3 – 469.8 μs/cm, while TDS ranges were 283.0 – 522.0 mg/L and 216.3 – 296.0 mg/L, respectively which might be due to waste water effluents of cement industry. The average Cd concentration in water and sediment was 0.15 mg l-1 and 0.73 mg kg-1, respectively. The higher concentrations of phytochemical parameters were observed in control site plants than study site plants. Metal contents of plant samples Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ne, Pb and Zn concentrations are between BDL – 0.06, BDL – BDL, BDL – 0.22, 0.04 – 0.54, BDL – BDL, BDL – 0.05 and 0.06 – 0.52 mg kg-1, respectively. But in control site, the Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ne, Pb and Zn concentrations were BDL – BDL, BDL – BDL, BDL – 0.04, 0.04 – 0.06, BDL – BDL, BDL – BDL and 0.06 – 0.10 mg kg-1, respectively. Most of the parameters concentrations were higher in the study area (2 – 20 fold) than the control site samples. The most contaminated site area found within the 0 to 500 m of the cement factory. The concentrations of phytochemical constituents were higher in control site than study area which indicate that the cement dust/ waste were strongly affects the growth and productivity of plants.

Keywords: Cement industrial zone, Heavy metal, Croton bonplandianum, Physiochemical parameters.