Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

POLLUTION IN WATER DUE TO E-WASTES – A LESSON LEARNED FROM LAKE STUDY

K. Jayaprakash and R. Anandan

Abstract

Due to industrialization and urbanization there has been invariable use of electronic and electrical equipments and products in our daily walk of life. However even though electronic equipments, electrical bulbs and other products meet the energy conversation on the usage, their disposable in open land without any management may cause environment havoc. For example the disposable of fused CFL, unused bulbs, electronic circuit boards etc cause a seepage of mercury in considerable level in various environmental media. Mercury is a toxic metal element. Industrial development and human activities have been increased the discharge of mercury in environment. The environmental mercury is transformed in to poisonous organic methyl species by soil microorganisms. Methyl mercury is the easily observed form of chemical substances by the aquatic animals. Now the rapid urbanization have also been contributed significant mercury pollution, due to the leaching of mercury from e-waste dumping. The aim of this study is determination of mercury pollution in a lake water where large number of CFL bulbs are dumped. The water samples and bio tissue samples of certain aquatic organisms habited in this lake had shown an elevated level of mercury in their tissues. The results have exhibited that the tissues of aquatic species studied in this work such as water beetles, tad pole, fishes and crane have shown an increase trend of mercury bio accumulation in their tissues. The same concept was also reflected in the case of species studied from soil habitat. This would suggest that e-waste may be the determinant factor for the mercury contamination. The results are discussed with safe disposal of spent bulbs in the interest of environmental protection.