Distribution of trace metals in the Hindon River system, India

The distribution of trace metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Ni) in wa ter, suspended and bed sediments of the River Hindon, a highly polluted riv er in western Uttar Pradesh (India) has been studied. The river is polluted by municipal, industrial and agricultural effluents, and flows through the city of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad districts. The heavy metal concentrations in water were observed to depend largely on the amount of f lowing water and are negatively correlated with flow. Sediment analysis ind icates that the large amount of heavy metals is associated with organic mat ter, the fine-grained sediment fraction and Fe/Mn hydrous oxides. A high po sitive correlation of most of the metal ions in sediments with iron, mangan ese and organic matter indicate that these constituents play a major role i n transport of metal ions. The heavy metal concentrations generally increas ed with the decreasing particle size of the sediments. Lower metal concentr ations in bed sediments during post-monsoon season established that monsoon had a slight effect on status of metals in sediments by causing renewal an d mobilization of metals from the sediments. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.