Affiliation:
1. P.G. & Research Department of Zoology, Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous) (Affiliated to Bharathidasan University), Tiruchirappalli-620020, India
2. P.G. & Research Department of Botany, Thanthai Periyar Government Arts and Science College (Autonomous) (Affiliated to Bharathidasan University), Tiruchirappalli-620023, India
Abstract
The importance of a clean environment is recognized as a “pillar” of sustainable development. There
is, however, a serious public health threat associated with heavy metal releases into the environment.
Aquatic environments in Tamil Nadu state of India lack heavy metals monitoring data. From year
2008 to 2022, research articles were assessed that focused at heavy metal concentrations in freshwater
and marine ecosystems. It has been shown that elevated levels of heavy metals in sediments of aquatic
ecosystems contribute to an increase in their abundance, which may further enter the food chain through
bioaccumulation. In addition, intensifying human exploitation of the South East Coastal region (SEC)
in Tamil Nadu state of India through industries, tourism, aquaculture and recreation further complicates
the situation by providing ever-changing sources of contamination. As a result of analyzing all heavy
metals, the levels of Cd in biota collected from ocean environments were higher. Rivers and lakes have
shown increased levels of heavy metals such as Zn, Cu and Pb as a result of localized anthropogenic
activities. In accordance with sediment guidelines and human health risk assessments, most of the
heavy metals concentrations in sediments and aquatic biota exceeded the permissible limits. It is
highly recommended that more monitoring studies are conducted to monitor the levels of heavy metals
in organisms and in urban rivers, lakes and marine environments in the future, with extreme importance
both for environmental health and economics. By identifying the sources of pollutants and implementing
strict policies to abate pollution, local governments can implement better control measures to decrease
pollution levels.
Publisher
Asian Journal of Chemistry