Environ Geol (2006) 50: 397–403 DOI 10.1007/s00254-006-0218-0
A. K. Upadhyay K. K. Gupta J. K. Sircar M. K. Deb G. L. Mundhara
Received: 15 May 2005 Accepted: 6 February 2006 Published online: 15 March 2006 Springer-Verlag 2006
A. K. Upadhyay Æ K. K. Gupta J. K. Sircar (&) Analytical Chemistry Centre, National Metallurgical Laboratory, 831007 Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India E-mail:
[email protected] Tel.: +91-657-2271709 Fax: +91-657-2270527 M. K. Deb Æ G. L. Mundhara Department of Chemistry, School of Studies, Pt. Ravi Shanker Shukla University, 492010 Raipur, Chattishgarh, India
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Heavy metals in freshly deposited sediments of the river Subernarekha, India: an example of lithogenic and anthropogenic effects
Abstract Heavy metal distribution patterns in river sediments aid in understanding the exogenic cycling of elements as well as in assessing the effect of anthropogenic influences. In India, the Subernarekha river flows over the Precambrian terrain of the Singhbhum craton in eastern India. The rocks are of an iron ore series and the primary rock types are schist and quartzite. One main tributary, the Kharkhai, flows through granite rocks and subsequently flows through the schist and quartzite layers. The Subernarekha flows through the East Singhbhum district, which is one of India’s industrialised areas known for ore mining, steel production, power generation, cement production and other related activities. Freshly deposited river sediments were collected upstream and downstream the industrial zone. Samples were collected from four locations and analysed in