Peak pollution
In 1999, a test conducted on a water sample from a hand pump in Pocharam village of Patancheru industrial area in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh (ap) showed that the level of mercury was 115 times the permissible limit. This was part of a survey done by Down To Earth in association with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (see What goes down must come up, Down To Earth, Vol 8, No 7, August 31, 1999).
A study carried out by the National Geophysical Research Institute (ngri), Hyderabad, found that arsenic levels in villages in and around Patancheru were as high as 700 parts per billion (ppb), as against the 10 ppb allowed by the World Health Organisation (who).
The ngri study observed that most of the industrial units dealt with pharmaceuticals, paints, pigments, metal treatment and steel rolling. They used inorganic and organic chemicals as raw materials, which were reflected in appreciable amounts in the effluents. The units in Patancheru and Bollaram discharged about five million litres of effluents daily. While a major part of the untreated effluents seeped into nearby tanks and streams, another part was clandestinely disposed of in dry bore wells.
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