Water Leads to Ailments in Pallavaram
Published: 18th August 2014 06:00 AM | Last Updated: 18th August 2014 02:30 AM | A+A A-
CHENNAI: A study titled Trace Metals Contamination of Groundwater in and around Tannery Industrial Area of Pallavaram in Chennai, by the Centre for Water Resources, Anna University, has said that the water table in the area is polluted with heavy metals like lead and chromium, posing serious health risks.
The periya eri (big tank) that once sprawled across 189 acres in the area has now shrunk to a small patch and is used for effluent discharge by the leather industry and for sewage and garbage dumping, and it has adversely affected the quality of groundwater, the study pointed out.
The quality has gone down so bad over the years that none in the locality use it for drinking, instead utilising it only for other domestic purposes. But it can cause skin rashes, itching, fever and diarrhoea, which is experienced particularly by children aged below five.
“The concentration of heavy metals in the groundwater is threatening... posing a serious health hazard. [The effect is] also economical in a way that people have to spend a reasonable part of their income towards purchasing better quality water for drinking and other domestic needs as a precautionary measure to avoid the health impact... Thus, there is as an alarming need to mitigate the water quality problems in the area due to heavy metals,” the study stated.