Chromium Pollution in the Groundwaters of an Industrial Area in Bangalore, India

Chromate poisoning causes severe skin disorders such as allergic dermatitis and liver and kidney damage. The present study attempts to capture the environmental impacts of industrial effluent irrigation from a tanning industrial cluster. In recent years, groundwater in the study area forms the mainstay of domestic water supply source for meeting the community needs. However, the threat of chromium contamination in groundwaters is looming large over the study area. In view of this, it is of paramount importance to look for and to evaluate the chromium levels in the drinking waters of the area and assess their status of potability in light of the criteria by Bureau of Indian Standards (B.I.S). There is considerable evidence that chromium is carcinogenic. Thirty groundwater samples were identified for sampling and chromium analysis, from the area covering about 1.4 km(2), in and around the industrial cluster. The analysis reveals that 53.33% of the samples are non-potable due to the presence of excess chromium and the results show that there is a definite correlation between the ill health faced by the residents of the area and ground water contamination.