Movement of Toxic metals from small-scale industrial areas: A case study from Delhi, India

In India, an estimated 70% of the total industrial pollution load is attributed to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Among SME's, small-scale industries, continue to use obsolete technologies with no stringent rules for pollution control. Consequently, waste generated from them is generally dumped without treatment. These facts are strengthened from the analysis conducted on solid waste and wastewater samples from five industrial areas, water samples of river Yamuna, the tributary of river Ganges and solid waste samples of landfill areas in Delhi. Toxic metal concentrations were analysed and found in high concentration in collected samples. Besides that, fractionation study was also done. The data obtained from this study identify that the wastes with high concentrations of toxic metals, calling for the introduction of point source control of waste generation. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.