Abstract

The use of trace elements ions had witnessed a phenomenal rise in agriculture as well as in the industrial sectors in recent past. The study was conducted within parts of Central Ganga Plain with an objective to find out the concentration of fifteen trace elements (As, Pb, Sr, Ba, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Fe, Zn, Cr, B, Se, and Al) in the regional groundwater. These probe elements were further categorized as toxic metals (Pb, As), alkaline earth metals (Sr, Ba), transition metals (Mn, Co, Ni), metallic elements (Cu, Cd, Fe, Zn, Cr), and non-metallic elements (B, Se, Al). Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICPMS) was employed to determine the concentration of these trace elements in collected water samples. The study reveals that some groundwater samples had marginally high concentration of Mn, Fe, Pb, and Cr, whereas, concentration of Al and Sr in water samples is very high as per W.H.O. standard for potable water. These high concentrations of metal ions in groundwater was probably due to unsafe discharge of effluent from sugar mill, pulp and paper, cooperative distilleries, municipal wastewater, fertilizers and other industries. The adverse effects of large-scale industrialization in these areas can now be distinctly observed in the form of deterioration of groundwater quality.

Key words: Trace element, groundwater, contamination, western Uttar Pradesh, India.