Dissolved, Particulate and Sedimentary Mercury in the Cochin Estuary Southwest Coast of India

Ouseph, P. P.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-75413-5_68

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Unfortunately, these backwaters, especially the Cochin backwaters, are highly polluted with metals due to the discharges from industries, urban and agricultural sectors (Nair et al 1990;Menon et al 2000). Earlier studies have reported a high concentration of mercury in the water and sediments of Cochin backwaters (Omana and Mahesh 2008;Ouseph 1992Ouseph , 1996.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Accumulation of mercury and other heavy metals in edible fishes of Cochin backwaters, Southwest India

Mohan

Deepa

Ramasamy

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

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Mercury, a global pollutant, has become a real threat to the developing countries like India and China, where high usage of mercury is reported. Mercury and other heavy metals deposited in to the aquatic system can cause health risk to the biota. The common edible fishes such as Mugil cephalus, Arius arius, Lutjanus ehrenbergii, Etroplus suratensis were collected from Cochin backwaters, Southwest India and analysed for mercury and other heavy metals (zinc, cadmium, lead and copper) in various body parts. Kidney and liver showed highest concentration of metals in most fishes. The omnivore and bottom feeder (E. suratensis) showed high concentration of mercury (14.71 mg/kg dry weight) and other metals (1.74 mg/g-total metal concentration). The average mercury concentration obtained in muscle was 1.6 mg/kg dry weight (0.352 mg/kg wet weight), which is higher than the prescribed limits (0.3 mg/kg wet weight). The concentration of other heavy metals in the muscles of fishes were found in a decreasing order Zn>Cu>Cd>Pb and are well below WHO permissible limits that were safe for human consumption. Metal selectivity index (MSI) obtained for all the metals except mercury showed that both carnivores and omnivores have almost same kind of affinity towards the metals especially Zn and Cd, irrespective of their feeding habit. The MSI values also indicate that the fishes have the potential to accumulate metals. High tissue selectivity index (TSI) values were reported for kidney, muscle and brain for all metals suggests that the metal concentration in these tissues can serve as an indication of metal polluted environment. Even if the daily intakes of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu from these fishes are within the provisional maximum daily intake recommended by WHO/FAO, the quality is questionable due to the high hazard index obtained for mercury (>1). Fishes like E. suratensis being a favourite food of people in this region, the high consumption of it can lead to chronic disorders as this fish has high concentration of metals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Accumulation of mercury and other heavy metals in edible fishes of Cochin backwaters, Southwest India

Mohan

Deepa

Ramasamy

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

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“…During the last 50 years, the effluent discharge from Cochin Industrial City has increased from a negligible level to 6.5 million m 3 /day (Gopalan 2002). The indiscriminate use of fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides and municipal waste causes considerable damages to the water quality of riverine, estuarine and marine systems (Ouseph et al 2004a–c). The bordering areas and islands in the estuary are centres of intense human activity caused by the establishment of the Cochin Port in 1950s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies carried out in the last few decades have pointed out unfavourable changes in the hydrodynamics (Madhupratap et al 1977; Joseph & Kurup 1990; Balachandran 2001) and hydrobiological (Qasim 1980; Lakshmanan et al 1982; Menon et al 2000) conditions of the Cochin Estuary. The concentrations of dissolved, particulate and sedimentary metals are well documented (Ouseph 1992; Ouseph et al 2004c; Balachandran et al 2005; Joseph et al 2008). Analysis of the literature showed that the sources of nutrients and its association with other physico‐chemical variables were poorly studied in this highly threatened ecosystem (Joseph et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concentrations of dissolved, particulate and sedimentary metals are well documented (Ouseph 1992; Ouseph et al 2004c; Balachandran et al 2005; Joseph et al 2008). Analysis of the literature showed that the sources of nutrients and its association with other physico‐chemical variables were poorly studied in this highly threatened ecosystem (Joseph et al 2008). The current paper analyses the status of nutrients in the estuary in relation with other physico‐chemical parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of nutrients using multivariate statistical techniques in estuarine systems and its management implications: a case study from Cochin Estuary, India

Joseph

Ouseph

2009

Water and Environment Journal

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The status of nutrients in Cochin Estuary in relation with other physico‐chemical variables was assessed using monthly data from seven locations for a period of 3 years. Seasonal comparative assessments were made and the probable sources of nutrients were modelled using principal component analysis (PCA). The results pointed out that the nutrients have higher concentration in premonsoon season compared with other seasons. The correlation coefficients of nutrients pointed out that strong correlation exists indicating that their source of origin could be same. Factor analysis extracted three principal components (PCs) in which the first component attributed to run‐off, the second to influx of marine water and the third to intensive human activities. The proposed statistical model based on PCA gave a reasonable explanation on relation between physico‐chemical parameters and environmental factors which have far reaching implications in the management of water systems.

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Dissolved, Particulate and Sedimentary Mercury in the Cochin Estuary Southwest Coast of India

Cited by 2 publications

References 4 publications

Accumulation of mercury and other heavy metals in edible fishes of Cochin backwaters, Southwest India

Accumulation of mercury and other heavy metals in edible fishes of Cochin backwaters, Southwest India

Assessment of nutrients using multivariate statistical techniques in estuarine systems and its management implications: a case study from Cochin Estuary, India

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