Abstract

Caroline Michael¹ and R.Wilfred Sugumar²

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/ojc/290343

One of the global problems in the present day world is the negative impacts created by the growing e-waste on the natural resources like air, soil and water. In the present work, the discarded electronic components were allowed to leach in water samples drawn from different rivers and the leachate were analyzed for the presence of heavy metals. The results highlight that even if the contact time is short, the toxic elements tend to leach to a great extent. In our studies, Arsenic had leached to an extent of 0.053ppm, Cadmium 0.010 ppm, Chromium 0.029 ppm, Lead 0.042ppm and Mercury 0.061ppm. The results indicate that most of the metals have a tendency to leach and the extent of leaching depends on the quality of the water. As a result of leaching the physico-chemical parameters like pH, hardness, conductance and TDS of the water samples underwent a change. On the other hand, the physical parameters like viscosity, density, were not much affected. These studies highlight the danger of dumping the discarded electronic components in river beds especially when the water flow is less and when the  water is stagnated.

heavy metals;toxicity;surface water;leacheate;water quality

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