Issues

Puthiya Tamizhagam leader K.

Krishnaswamy met DMDK chief
Vijayakanth on Friday
DECCAN CHRONICLE

ENNORE CREEK FISH

CONTAMINATED BY
HEAVY METALS
G. JAGANNATH | DC
CHENNAI, JUNE 12

If you are a lover of seafood,

look out. You could be consuming fish with heavy metals that may pose a threat to
your health.
A recent study on Ennore
creek by researchers found
high levels of mercury, cadmium and lead in fish
caught there. The researchers attributed the presence of metals in the fish to
uncontrolled discharge of
untreated
sewage
and
industrial effluents into the
creek.
The study Heavy Metal
Concentration of Sea Water
and Marine Organisms in
Ennore Creek, Southeast
Coast of India published
in the journal of Toxicology
and Health, revealed elevating levels of heavy metals in
the marine environment due
to industrial and man-made
pollution and warned it
could lead to ecosystem and
food chain contamination.
We conducted the study
to determine the concentrations of heavy metals like
mercury, cadmium, chromium, zinc and arsenic in
water and commercially
important marine organisms from Ennore creek as
they are important component of human diet, Mr M.
Jaikumar,
scientist,
Aquaculture Foundation of
India, one of the authors of
the study, said.
The study shows that
Penaeus monodon (tiger

prawn), Perna viridis (pacchai mathi or green mussel)

and
Mugil
cephalus
(madavai or grey mullet)
have the highest cadmium
concentration, which was
greater than the limits prescribed by the Food and
Agriculture Organisation
(FAO). There was considerable variation of arsenic
levels among the marine
organisms from the Ennore
coast. Comparatively higher concentration range was
observed in pacchai mathi
and tiger prawn, it said.
Mr Jaikumar said higher
concentration of mercury
was found in tiger prawn,
pacchai mathi and Terapon
jarbua (keechan). The liver
and kidneys of stock animals, fish and shellfish tend
to concentrate environmental mercury. Marine organisms possess a remarkable
capacity to turn inorganic
mercury into organic compounds, thus rendering
mercury more easily transferable throughout the
aquatic food chain. As a result, marine organisms contain mercury in levels up to
5 milligram per kilogram,
he said, noting that fish consumption might constitute
an important source of mercury exposure.
When another study was
conducted in five locations
Pulicat, Ennore, Marina,
Mahabalipuram
and
Kalpakkam to ascertain
the concentration of heavy
metals in fish, water and
sediments, it revealed that

HEAVY METALS LEAD TO

HEALTH COMPLICATIONS
Consumption of seafood with presence of heavy metals would affect
the system, says Dr S. Elango, former director of public health.
Fish laced with mercury could lead
to chronic illness like arthritis, joint
pain and kidney failure and it could
lead to multiple organ failure as
well, the public health expert said.
Mercury is a dangerous metal.
World Health Organisation has
Dr S. Elango
banned usage of mercurial instruments even in hospitals, he told DC.
Urging the government to take immediate action on
the study, Dr Elango said the food safety officials
should collect random samples of fish from the market and check for presence of heavy metals.
Pollution is caused by letting out industrial effluents
into the Ennore creek. The officials of the pollution
control board, along with health officials, should
inspect all the industries and check the effluents. If
the industries are found to be discharging the effluents with heavy metals, they should be closed
down, he said.
Inorganic arsenic
is carcinogenic
and can cause
cancer of skin,
lungs, liver and
bladder and
ingestion of very
high levels may
result in death.

Cadmium and cadmium compounds are also known human carcinogens. Ingestion of high levels
severely irritate the stomach causing vomiting and diarrhoea.
Long-term exposure to chromium
can cause damage to liver, kidney,
circulatory and nerve tissues as well
as skin irritation.
Exposure to high levels of mercury can permanently damage the
brain, kidneys and foetus.
Exposure of high levels of lead
can severely damage the brain and
kidneys and ultimately cause death.

maximum concentration of
all the five heavy metals in

fish are high in samples collected from Ennore.

SATURDAY I 13 JUNE 2015 | CHENNAI

Industrial,

man-made
pollution leads to
degradation of
ecosystem and
food chain

Maximum concentration
of arsenic and chromium
was found in water. In sediments, we found concentration of arsenic, cadmium
and lead in Ennore. It is due
to the discharge of untreated effluent from various
industries located near
Ennore, Ms Siji Thomas,
research scholar, department of chemical engineering, Sathyabama University,
told DC. She said sample of
spotted seer fish collected
from the Marina was found
to have higher concentration of mercury than one
collected from high-polluted
Ennore region.
It may be due to disposal
of sewage and medical
waste into Marina through
the Cooum, she said.
Mr Jaikumar attributes
the high level of concentration of heavy metals in
Ennore creek to hurdles in
draining the water into the
sea.
The upstream of the creek
goes up to 13 km and there
are about 17 industries
located at the north-end,
discharging effluents into
it, he said, warning that the
activities at the upper
course of the Ennore creek
should be kept under strict
surveillance as they are
capable of increasing the
heavy metals discharge into
the creek.
Because of the construction of a railway bridge and
road bridge across the
Ennore creek, it is hindering the free flow of water

PAGE

into the sea. During tidal

action, water from the creek
drains in low tide and seawater enters into the creek
during high tide.
Depth near the railway
bridge is only 1-1.5 metre
which makes it tough for
even a boat to cross, affecting draining of water during low tide, he said, pointing out that when they studied sediments settled near
the railway bridge, they
found very high level of
heavy metals indicating
hindrance in drainage.
The researcher said as of
now, dredging is being done
up to 500 metres from
Ennore
creek
mouth.
Dredging should be done
further up to 1.5 km or till
the railway bridge to ensure
free flow of water from the
creek into sea, he said.
In view of the importance
of finfish and shell fish in
the human diet, he said, It
is necessary that biological
monitoring of the water
and fish meant for consumption should be done
regularly to ensure continuous safety of the seafood.
He also said safe disposal
of domestic sewage and
industrial effluents should
be practised and wherever
possible, recycled, to avoid
these metals and other contaminants from entering
into the marine environment.
Laws enacted to protect
our marine environment
should be enforced strictly,
he demanded.

Many give up
fishing for a living
DC
CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, JUNE 15

With pollution in the

Ennore creek going
unchecked,
fishermen in the brackish
waters of Ennore
complain of heavy
pollution resulting in
diminishing catch.
Due to coolant
water being let out
from the Ennore, North Chennai and Vallur thermal power
plants and also from
petro-chemical companies in Manali
through the Buckingham canal into the
creek, there is a high
level of pollution. It
has affected fishing,
said
Tiruvallur
District Traditional
United
Fishermen
Association general
secretary
Durai
Mahendran.
He said their complaints to the pollution control board has
gone unheard. The
industries claim that
only treated effluents
are discharged into
the creek. But the fact
is the effluents are let
out without being
treated, he said.
He said four fishing
hamlets, Sivanpada

Durai Mahendran
Veethi,
Kattukuppam, Mugathuvara Kuppam and
Ennore
Kuppam,
were entirely dependent on fishing in the
Ennore creek for
their livelihood.
Now, they lost their
livelihood after the
heavy pollution in
brackish water affected fishing. Many of
them have given up
fishing, he said,
adding that fishermen involved in the
fishing in the Ennore
creek are suffering
from skin disease,
wheezing and other
ailments.
Madava, a fish
found abundantly in
the creek, cannot be
consumed
as
it
emanates an oily
odour, he said.

Sketch by Kirubhakaran M