Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485
DOI 10.1007/s10653-006-9053-1
ORIGINAL PAPER
Distribution of nitrogen species in groundwater aquifers of
an industrial area in alluvial Indo-Gangetic Plains—a case
study
Kunwar P. Singh Æ Vinod K. Singh Æ
Amrita Malik Æ Nikita Basant
Received: 20 September 2005 / Accepted: 10 May 2006 / Published online: 22 June 2006

Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006
Abstract The groundwater samples collected
from the shallow and deep groundwater aquifers
of an industrial area of the Kanpur city (Uttar
Pradesh, India) were analyzed for the concen-
tration levels and distribution pattern of nitroge-
nous species, such as nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N),
nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N), ammonical-nitrogen
(NH4-N), organic-nitrogen (Org-N) and total
Kjeldahl-nitrogen (TKN) to identify the possible
contamination source. Geo-statistical approach
was adopted to determine the distribution and
extent of the contaminant plume. In the ground-
water aquifers NO3-N, NO2-N, NH4-N, TKN,
Org-N and Total-N ranged from 0.10 to 64.10,
BDL (below detection limit)-6.57, BDL-39.00,
7.84–202.16, 1.39–198.97 and 8.89–219.43 mg l–1,
respectively. About 42% and 26% of the
groundwater samples of the shallow and deep
groundwater aquifers, respectively, exceeded the
BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) guideline value
of 10 mg l–1 for NO3-N and may pose serious
health hazards to the people of the area. The
results of the study revealed that the groundwater
K. P. Singh (&) Æ V. K. Singh Æ
Amrita Malik
Environmental Chemistry Section, Industrial
Toxicology Research Centre, Post Box 80, MG Marg,
Lucknow 226 001, India
e-mail: kpsingh_52@yahoo.com
N. Basant
AAI-DU, Allahabad, India
aquifers of the study area are highly contami-
nated with the nitrate and indicates point source
pollution of nitrate in the study area.
Keywords Industrial area Æ Contamination Æ
Nitrate pollution Æ Point source Æ Fertilizer
industry
Introduction
Nitrate is found in most of the natural waters at
moderate concentrations but is often enriched to
the contaminant level in the groundwater re-
sources mainly from the excessive use of fertiliz-
ers and uncontrolled on-land discharge of raw and
treated wastewater (Shrimali & Singh, 2001).
Nitrogen chemistry is complicated by the multi-
plicity of oxidation states, the element assumes in
its compounds. Nitrate (NO3), nitrite (NO2),
ammonia (NH3), and organically bound forms of
nitrogen (Org-N) are the species of interest for
water resource management. Various forms of
nitrogen (oxidized and reduced) are present in
many possible recharge sources of urban aquifers.
Nitrate contamination of the groundwater in dif-
ferent parts of India and other regions of the
world has been reported (Datta, Deb, & Tyagi,
1997; Laftouhi, Vanclooster, & Jalal, 2003;
Namade & Srivastava, 1997; Pandey & Mukher-
jee, 1994a, b; Reid, Edwards, Cooper, Wilson, &
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474
Mcgraw, 2003; Wakida & Lerner, 2005). Nitrate
has been linked to agricultural activities due to
the use of nitrogenous fertilizers. The non-agri-
cultural sources include leakage from water sup-
ply and disposal networks, on-site sewage
disposal, animal waste, contaminated land,
industry, river and aquifer interaction, atmo-
spheric deposition, urban fertilizer use, storm
water, house building, and direct recharge
(Wakida & Lerner, 2005). Among these indus-
tries are the potential sources of nitrogen to the
groundwater. Nitrogen compounds are used
extensively in the industrial processes such as
plastic and metal treatments, raw materials for
the textile industry, particle board and plywood,
household cleaning, fertilizers and the pharma-
ceutical industry. Contaminated lands such as
abandoned landfills, gasworks site or abandoned
industrial sites contribute a significant quantity of
nitrogen to groundwater. Landfills are considered
a major source of pollutants and their impacts on
groundwater quality have been reported (Albai-
ges, Casado, & Ventura, 1986; Flyammar, 1995).
In developing countries landfills are usually open
dumping sites for disposal of domestic/industrial
wastes. Pollutants from these sites may percolate
down to sub-soil and groundwater aquifers under
natural set of environmental conditions prevailing
in the region. Groundwater and surface water
contamination with nitrogenous species can cause
health problems in infants and animals as well as
the eutrophication of water bodies (Fennesy &
Cronk, 1997). Nitrate ion has been identified as a
potential health hazard to infants and pregnant
woman (Chan, 1996). The nitrate ion is respon-
sible for the disease ‘methaemoglobinemia’ or
‘blue-baby syndrome’ (Benefield, Judikins, &
Weand, 1982). Under certain conditions, nitrate
can be converted into much more poisonous ni-
trite and even to a carcinogenic nitrosamine
(Richard, 1980) which primarily affects the
oesophagus and pharynx (gastrointestinal tract).
Groundwater constitutes major source of water
for domestic, drinking, and industrial purposes in
Kanpur city, which is one of the important
industrial centers in northern India. There are
more than 800 industries in the city involved in
manufacture of wide variety of products such as
textiles, leather, drugs, chemicals, fertilizers,
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Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485
plastics, cold drinks and edibles, etc. Out of the
total drinking water demand of about 500 mil-
lion l per day (mld), more than half is met by the
groundwater sources, whereas, for the industrial
purposes, water requirements are mainly met
through groundwater sources. Subsequently, a
huge amount of domestic and industrial waste-
water is generated. The current total capacity of
wastewater treatment plants in the city is about
142 mld. Panki, Dada Nagar, Armapur and Jaj-
mau are the established industrial areas within
the city. In Panki industrial area, mainly chemical
based industries are operating including one
major fertilizer industry manufacturing urea. The
effluents so produced are generally rich in
ammonia and other nitrogen species and there are
the possibilities for the contamination of
groundwater aquifers with the nitrogen-species.
The rivers, streams and ponds are among the
main surface water sources in the region, while
the dug well, tube well, bore well and hand-pump
constitute the groundwater sources. The ground-
water in the study region occurs mostly at shallow
depth aquifers with water level depth of less than
10 m below the ground level.
This study focuses on the concentration levels
and distribution of various nitrogen species in
groundwater aquifers of Kanpur City, with an
attempt to identify the source of contamination
and delineate its boundaries for remedial purpose
to safeguard the public health, as groundwater is
the major source of domestic, drinking, and
industrial water supplies in Kanpur city.
Materials and methods
Study area
Kanpur, the eighth largest city of India, is an
industrial town located (latitude N 2620¢ and
2635¢ and longitude E 8010¢ and 8030¢) in the
Central Alluvial Ganga Plain (Fig. 1). It encom-
passes an area of about 1040 km2 with a popula-
tion of more than 2.53 million (Census, 2001).
The present study is confined to the Panki
industrial area.
In the study region, a three-tier aquifer system
viz., shallow, middle and deep aquifers, exists
Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485 475

Fig. 1 Map of the study area showing sampling locations

down to bedrock and the aquifers are connected bgl (below ground level). Middle aquifers, con-
through the clay beds. Shallow aquifers, consist- sisting of fine to medium sand, occur between
ing of very fine-to-fine sand, occur down to 150 m 150 m and 250 m and deep aquifers occurring

123
476
between the depths of 250 m and 400 m bgl
consist of medium to coarse sand and gravel. The
groundwater in the deeper aquifers occur under
confined and semi-confined conditions, whereas,
near surface groundwater in the phreatic zone
(thickness about 50 m bgl) is unconfined and is
tapped by shallow hand pumps and dug wells. The
groundwater in the investigated area originates
from a combination of rainfall, river/canal water
and irrigation water flow. Ground water in the
deeper aquifers is mostly recharged through
leakage from the upper unconfined aquifer and
partly from lateral groundwater flow from the
north and north-east.
Sample collection and analysis
A total of 126 groundwater samples were col-
lected in December 2004 from the Panki Indus-
trial region in Kanpur City (Fig. 1). The study
region covering an area of about 6 km2 is
demarcated by hydrological boundaries, a fresh
water canal in north and Pandu River in south.
Samples were collected from the hand-pumps and
bore wells spread over the entire study region.
Samples from tube wells, bore wells and hand-
pumps were collected from the outlets after
flushing water for 10–15 min in order to remove
the stagnant water. The water samples were col-
lected in high quality air-tight polyethylene con-
tainers. The sample containers were thoroughly
cleaned and pre-washed with phosphate free
detergent and rinsed with distilled water (Syl-
vestre, Brewer, Sekela, Tuominen, & Moyle,
1998). The collected water samples were imme-
diately transported to the laboratory in ice boxes
under low temperature (4C) conditions and
processed immediately for analysis (APHA,
1998). The samples were stored in deep freezer at
4C and the analysis was completed within 24 h.
Nitrate (NO3-N) and nitrite (NO2-N) ions were
measured by ion-selective electrode method using
ionplus combination electrodes: ORION 97-07
NO–3 ion electrode for nitrate and ORION 97-46
NO–2 ion electrode for nitrite equipped with an
Ion meter (model 960A, ThermoOrion, USA).
Nitrate interference suppressor solution (Orion
930710) and nitrite interference suppressor solu-
tion (Orion 934610) were used for determination
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Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485
of nitrate and nitrite, respectively. Ammonia
(NH4-N) was determined spectrophotometrically
(nesslerization method) using UV–VIS spectro-
photometer (GBC Cintra-40, Australia), whereas
total Kjeldahl-nitrogen (TKN) was determined by
distillation (Macro-Kjeldhal Method) and titra-
tion with H2SO4 (APHA, 1998). TKN is the sum
of free ammonia and organic nitrogen com-
pounds. Organic nitrogen (Org-N) was estimated
from the difference of TKN and NH4-N in each
sample. The total nitrogen (Total-N) is the sum of
all nitrogen forms as above. The minimum
detection limits for nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and
TKN were 0.1, 0.05, 0.02 and 0.2 mg l–1, respec-
tively.
Quality assurance
The analytical data quality was ensured through
careful standardization, procedural blank mea-
surements, and spiked and duplicate samples. The
laboratory also participates in regular national
program on analytical quality control (AQC). For
NO2-N, NO3-N and NH4-N synthetic solutions in
the concentration range of 0.1–100 mg l–1, 0.1–
50 mg l–1, and 0.1–5.0 mg l–1, respectively were
prepared separately through spiking of deionized
water (DI) with their respective standards
(Merck, India). For TKN, glutamic acid (99%,
SRL, India) was used as standard for Org-N and
spiked solutions (0–5.0 mg-N l–1) in DI water
were prepared. Recoveries of the N-species from
the spiked water samples (n = 10) were found to
be between 94 to 102%. After each batch of 10
samples, series of these spiked solutions were
analyzed following the same procedures along
with their respective blanks. In all the analysis,
blanks were run and corrections were applied, if
necessary. All the observations were recorded in
duplicate and average values are reported.
Appropriate dilutions were applied wherever
necessary.
Results and discussions
In general, in the groundwater samples collected
over the entire study region (shallow and deep
aquifers) the NO3-N, NO2-N, NH4-N, TKN,
Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485
Org-N and Total-N ranged from 0.1 to 64.1, BDL-
6.6, BDL-39.0, 7.8–202.2, 1.4–198.9 and 8.9–
219.4 mg l–1, respectively. In study area the levels
of NO3-N were higher then that observed in the
groundwater of south Brazil impacted with waste
from coal processing activities (NO3-N, 0.40–
3.40 mg l–1; Binotto, Teixeira, Sanchez,
Migliavacca, & Nanni, 2000), in the groundwater
of Epworth (NO3-N, 0.0–6.74 mg l–1; Zingoni,
Love, Magadza, Moyce, & Musiwa, 2005) and in
the groundwater of Kakamigahara Heights,
Central Japan (NO3-N, 0.49–26.61 mg l1; Babi-
ker, Mohamed, Terao, Kato, & Ohta, 2004).
However, levels of NO3-N in study area were
lower than reported by Nas and Berktay (2006) in
the groundwater of Konya City, Turkey (3.0–
110.0 mg l–1 in the year 2001). Rukah and Also-
khny (2004) have also observed enhanced nitrate
concentrations (7.57–90.23 mg l–1) in the
groundwater of North Jordan. They attributed
this to the discharge of sewage effluents, fertiliz-
ers, animal excreta, rainfall and industrial efflu-
ents to unsaturated aquifers. The basic statistics
of the nitrogen species (N-species) detected in the
groundwater samples from the shallow and dee-
per aquifers of the studied region is given in
Tables 1 and 2, respectively. There was observed
a wide spatial variation in the levels of different
N-species viz. NO3-N, NO2-N, NH4-N, TKN,
Org-N and Total-N determined in the ground-
water samples collected from the study region. It
was also observed that mean concentration level
of NO3-N (14.7 mg l–1) and NH4-N (2.0 mg l–1) in
shallow aquifers were relatively higher than that
observed in the deeper aquifers (NO3-N,
9.6 mg l–1; NH4-N, 1.54 mg l–1). Further, the
mean concentration levels of NO3-N were higher
Table 1 Basic statistics of the different N-species in the groundwater samples of shallow aquifers (n = 48) of the study
region
N-Species* Minimum Maximum
NO3-N 0.10 64.10
NO2-N BDL 0.48
NH4-N BDL 36.50
TKN 7.84 45.92
Org-N 1.39 24.90
Total N 8.89 86.47
*All values are in mg l–1; BDL, below detection limit
477
than that of NH4-N and NO2-N in both the
shallow as well as deeper aquifers. Lee, Min,
Woo, Kim, and Ahn (2003) have also reported
higher concentrations of NO3-N in shallow wells
as compared to the deep wells in the groundwater
of Seoul (Korea). This may be attributed to the
fact that nitrate, as compared to other nitrogen
species, does not attach to soil particles and is
easily moved to groundwater. In addition, if depth
to groundwater is shallow and the underlying soil
is sandy, as in the study region, the potential for
nitrates to enter groundwater is relatively high
(Killpack & Buchhalz, 1993). Moreover, the
extra-ordinary aqueous solubility of nitrates
imparts higher mobility to the ion with the
groundwater flow. Figures 2 and 3 present the
histograms for the frequency distribution of var-
ious N-species (NO3-N, NO2-N, NH4-N, Org-N,
and TKN) in groundwater aquifers suggesting
skewed (non-normal) distribution in both the
shallow (Fig. 2) and deep (Fig. 3) aquifers. The
skewed frequency distribution of the N-species
suggests groundwater contamination from both
point and non-point sources of pollution. The
distribution of Org-N and TKN showed almost
similar trends in the deep groundwater aquifers
(Fig. 3d and e, respectively). This may be due to
the low concentration of ammonia in deep
groundwater aquifers, and hence of TKN, which is
sum of Org-N and NH4-N (Table 2). These results
are in accordance with Nas and Berktay (2006)
who also observed the non-normal distribution of
NO3-N in the groundwater of Konya City, Turkey.
Table 3 shows the frequency distribution of NO3-
N (with a step of 10 mg l–1) in the shallow and
deep groundwater aquifers. It is evident that in
shallow aquifers about 58% samples are situated
Mean SD Skewness
14.71 16.12 1.18
0.09 0.14 1.70
2.00 5.63 5.43
13.05 5.86 21.40
11.05 3.60 0.79
27.84 18.30 1.38
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478 Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485

Table 2 Basic statistics of the different N-species in the groundwater samples of deeper aquifers (n = 78) of the study
region
N-Species* Minimum Maximum Mean SD Skewness

NO3-N 0.22 63.80 9.57 11.93 2.30

NO2-N BDL 6.57 0.19 0.76 7.97
NH4-N BDL 39.00 1.54 5.54 5.94
TKN 7.84 202.16 17.31 23.46 6.94
Org-N 4.58 198.97 15.77 21.96 7.81
Total N 9.25 219.43 27.07 28.19 4.96
*All values are in mg l–1; BDL, below detection limit

30
a 30 b
25
25
Expected Normal
Number of Samples

Number of Samples
Expected Normal
20
20

15
15

10
10

5 5

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
-1 -1
NO3 -N Classes (mg L ) NO2 -N Classes (mg L )

c 45 d 30
40
25
Number of Samples

Number of Samples

35
Expected Normal
30 20
25 Expected Normal
15
20
15 10
10
5
5
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 5 10 15 20 25
-1 -1
NH4 -N Classes (mg L ) Org-N Classes (mg L )

30
e
25
Expected Normal
Number of Samples

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
-1
TKN Classes (mg L )

Fig. 2 Frequency distribution of (a) NO3-N, (b) NO2-N, (c) NH4-N, (d) Org-N, and (e) TKN in shallow aquifers of the
study region

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Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485 479

a 60 b 60
55
Expected Normal 50
50 Expected Normal

Numberof Samples
Numberof Samples

45
40 40
35
30 30
25
20 20
15
10 10
5
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
-1 -1
NO3-N Classes (mg L ) NO2-N Classes (mg L )

c 65 d 80
60
55 70 Expected Normal
Expected Normal
Numberof Samples

Numberof Samples
50 60
45
40 50
35
40
30
25 30
20
15 20
10
10
5
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 50 100 150 200
-1 -1
NH4-N Classes (mg L ) Org-N Classes (mg L )

e 80
70
Numberof Samples

60 Expected Normal

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 50 100 150 100 250
-1
TKN Classes (mg L )

Fig. 3 Frequency distribution of (a) NO3-N, (b) NO2-N, (c) NH4-N, (d) Org-N, and (e) TKN in deep aquifers of the study
region

in the [0–10 mg l–1] class, whereas in deep aquifers in the groundwater of the upper Pantanoso
about 74% samples are situated in this class. Thus, Stream Basin (Argentina). Consumption of water
about 42% and 26% groundwater samples in the having NO3-N concentration higher than 10 mg l–1
shallow and deep groundwater aquifers, respec- may pose serious health hazards. Miao (1989) has
tively, exceeded the permissible value of 10 mg l–1 reported occurrence of stomach and oesophagus
for NO3-N prescribed by Bureau of Indian Stan- cancers in the Lujiang County, closely correlated
dards (BIS, 1992) and Environmental Protection with the drinking of shallow waters with high
Agency (USEPA, 1996). Costa et al. (2002) have nitrate content.
also reported NO3-N concentrations, greater than The elevated levels of N-species in the shallow
accepted level (10 mg l–1) for safe drinking water aquifers may be due to the industrial activities
(USEPA, 1996) present in 36% of sampled wells going on in the study area. Nitrogen compounds

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480 Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485

Table 3 Frequency
Class (mg l–1) Shallow aquifers Deep aquifers
distribution of the NO3-N
in the aquifers of the n Samples (%) Cumulative (%) n Samples (%) Cumulative (%)
study region
0–10 28 58.33 58.33 57 74.03 74.03
>10–20 5 10.42 68.75 10 12.99 87.01
>20–30 6 12.50 81.25 5 6.49 93.51
>30–40 4 8.33 89.58 3 3.90 97.40
>40–50 3 6.25 95.83 1 1.30 98.70
>50–60 1 2.08 97.92 0 0.00 98.70
>60–70 1 2.08 100.00 1 1.30 100.0

are used extensively in industrial processes such
as plastic and metal treatments, raw materials for
the textile industry, particleboard/plywood,
household cleaning and the pharmaceutical
industry (Wakida & Lerner, 2005). In the study
area, a large amount of wastewater is discharged
without treatment directly/indirectly in to surface
water or land from various industries involved in
manufacture of wide variety of products (textiles,
leather, drugs, chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, cold
drinks and edibles etc.). The uncontrolled dis-
posal of waste/wastewater may have negative ef-
fects such as pollution of the water table and the
soil in the receiving area (Lerner & Tellam, 1992).
The leachate from these wastes, combined with
precipitation, infiltrates to the shallow water ta-
ble. The leachates from landfills generally do not
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
mix with the native groundwater but form a
plume. As the pollutants diffuse into the pore
spaces of the soil, the dilution is progressive but
dispersion increases greatly (Subrahmanyam &
Yadaiah, 2001). Kerndorff, Schleyer, Milde, and
Plumb (1992), Lee and Jones-Lee (1993), Massing
(1994), Mato (1999), Heron, Bjerg, Gravesen,
Ludvigsen, and Christensen (1998), Mikac,
Cosovic, Ahel, and Toncic (1998) and Riediker,
Suter, and Giger (2000), have reported environ-
mental impact of the landfill leakage, particularly
on groundwater quality, regardless of an ideal site
selection and a monitoring network design. The
rate and amount of movement of contaminants in
soils and groundwater are generally slow and
depend on the properties of the contaminants, the
soil, the aquifer, climatological conditions, and

55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
a b
5
0

5
0
26.455
26.455

26.45

26.45

26.445

26.445

26.44
80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27 80.245 80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27

Fig. 4 Spatial distribution of NO3-N concentration (mg l–1) in the (a) shallow aquifers, (b) deep aquifers of the study region

123
Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485 481

0.75

0.25
1.5

0.5

0
a b

0.05
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
26.455
26.455

26.45
26.45

26.445

26.445

26.44
80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27 80.245 80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27
–1
Fig. 5 Spatial distribution of NO2-N concentration (mg l ) in the (a) shallow aquifers, (b) deep aquifers of the study region
15
14
13
12
11
10

34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
a b
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

8
6
4
2
0
26.455
26.455

26.45

26.45

26.445

26.445

26.44
80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27 80.245 80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27

Fig. 6 Spatial distribution of NH4-N concentration (mg l–1) in the (a) shallow aquifers, (b) deep aquifers of the study region

vegetation patterns (Hornsby, 1999). Singh, water, agriculture and human health in the areas
Mohan, Sinha, and Dalwani (2004) and Singh, (Kanpur and Varanasi, India) receiving the
Malik, Singh, and Sinha (2006) studied the impact wastewater. In the study area, mainly chemical
of treated/untreated wastewater and reported based industries are operating including one
considerable risk and adverse impact on soil, major fertilizer industry manufacturing urea. The

123
482 Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485

effluents so produced are generally rich in NH2 CONH2 þ H2 O ¼ NH2 COONH4

ammonia and other nitrogen species, which easily
may percolate down to sub-soil and groundwater
aquifers under natural set of environmental con-
ditions prevailing in the region. The installed
(1969–1970) capacity of the fertilizer plant was
675,000 MTPA (metric ton par annum) and the
production increased upto 733,000 MT during the
year 1998–1999 (http://fert.nic.in/fertcompanies/
dil.asp), however according to the press infor-
mation bureau (PIB), Government of India (PIB,
2004), the industry is under unscheduled shut-
down from 2002. There is an abandoned waste-
disposal pond in the study area with no protective
bottom lining, earlier used by the nitrogenous
fertilizer (Urea) industry for disposal of its efflu-
ents with high contents of urea and subsequent
recovery through a process of open surface
evaporation. Percolation of the wastewater from
the disposal sites (waste pond) to the deeper sub-
soil layers may contaminate the groundwater
aquifers. N-species present in the wastewater
along with the urea moves with the percolating
water. Urea (NH2CONH2) hydrolyzes slowly to
ammonium carbamate and eventually decom-
poses to ammonia and carbon dioxide.
20
NH2 COONH4 ¼ 2NH3 þ CO2
where NH2COONH4 is ammonium carbamate.
The ammonia may be oxidized to nitrite by the
bacteria such as Nitrosomonas that can further be
oxidized to nitrate by other bacteria such as
Nitrobacter. These biologically mediated reac-
tions are collectively referred to as nitrification.
Nitrosomonas
2NH3 þ 3O2 ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒ! 2NO
þ
2 þ 2H þ 2H2 O
Nitrobacter
2NO


2 þ O2 ƒƒƒƒƒƒ! 2NO3
These chemical equations indicate that an
oxygen demand is exerted. Further, these inter-
conversions lead to ultimate and higher concen-
trations of nitrate in the groundwater aquifers.
To determine the extent of the contaminant
plume, spatial approach was used by mapping the
spatial distribution of different N-species. Fig-
ures 4–8 present the spatial distribution patterns
of the NO3-N, NO2-N, NH4-N, Org-N and TKN
in ground water aquifers of the study region. The
iso-concentration maps of the all N-species in the

18

16

14

12

10

a b
45

35

25

15

10
8

0
26.455
26.455

26.45

26.45

26.445

26.445

26.44
80.245 80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27
80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27

Fig. 7 Spatial distribution of Org-N concentration (mg l–1) in the (a) shallow aquifers, (b) deep aquifers of the study region

123
Environ Geochem Health (2006) 28:473–485 483

180
170
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
a b
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
8
6

0
26.455
26.455

26.45

26.45

26.445

26.445

26.44
80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27 80.245 80.25 80.255 80.26 80.265 80.27
–1
Fig. 8 Spatial distribution of TKN concentration (mg l ) in the (a) shallow aquifers, (b) deep aquifers of the study region

shallow aquifers show almost similar patterns
indicating the diffusion of plumes from north to
the south direction. This may be due to the
influence of the fresh water canal flowing through
the study area as the drainage pattern of the study
region is from NW to SE. Further, the region of
high concentration of these species coincides and
spatial distribution has almost the same charac-
teristics in the shallow aquifers, whereas in deep
aquifers the plumes of N-species originate in the
East-Southern part of the study area. The differ-
ence in the distribution pattern of nitrogenous
species in shallow and deep aquifers may be due
to more complex processes involved in interac-
tions at solid–water interface in the deeper aqui-
fers. Moreover, the origin of the plume of
N-species in the shallow aquifers coincides with
the waste pond located in the study area and
earlier used by the fertilizer industry indicating
possibility of the groundwater contamination with
the leaching/movement of contaminants from the
soil surface to the underneath groundwater.
nitrate, which may cause serious health hazards to
the population of the area. The spatial distribution
of the concentrations of the N-species suggests
point source of the nitrate pollution in the aquifer.
In the groundwater aquifers of the study area, the
main source of nitrate contamination is wastewa-
ter disposal from industrial activities. A large
amount of samples from the shallow and deeper
aquifers exceeding the standard limit (10 mg l–1)
of nitrate indicates high risk for the people of the
study area consuming the water, as the ground-
water is the main drinking water source in the
region. Further, the findings suggest for a thor-
ough health monitoring in the region for any ad-
verse effects and provision for safe drinking water.
Acknowledgements We thank the Director, Industrial
Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow for his consistent
support and interest in this work and CSIR (New Delhi)
for financial assistance under COR-0005 project.
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