Water Pollutants: Sources and Impact
on the Environment and Human Health
Sughosh Madhav, Arif Ahamad, Amit K. Singh, Jyoti Kushawaha,
Joginder Singh Chauhan, Sanjeev Sharma and Pardeep Singh
Abstract Water is the most crucial commodity for life support process in organism. Water is basic and mandatory need for the humans and the entire living
creature on earth. Therefore, the consumption of water by human should be safe,
easily accessible, adequate and free from any kind of contamination. Pollutants in
water bodies pose a severe threat to human health as well as aquatic ecosystem.
There are numbers of water pollutant which has been categorized into inorganic
pollutants, organic pollutants, pathogens, thermal pollution, and radioactive pollutants etc. In the current review an endeavor has been made to recognize the water
pollution based on biological and chemical indicator and categorize the water
pollutant on the basis of different source and origin. A brief discussion on different
water pollutants, their source in atmosphere and impact on environment and human
health is also done in this study. In this study a concise discussion has been done on
some traditional water pollutants like nutrients (NO 3 and PO 4 ), Halogen (Cl, Br and
F), heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Al, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni and Hg), organic pollutants
(POPs, EDS and pesticides), and microbial pollutants. Some emerging crisis related
to water pollution in recent past is like microplastic, thermal pollution, radioactive
pollution and suspended solids and sediments are also included in this study.
Keywords Water pollution Á Nutrients Á Halogen Á Heavy metals Á Organic
pollutants Á Human health
S. Madhav (&) Á A. Ahamad Á A. K. Singh Á J. Kushawaha
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110067, India
e-mail: sughosh.madhav@gmail.com
J. S. Chauhan Á S. Sharma
Centres for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110067, India
P. Singh
P. D. D. A. V. College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110065, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
D. Pooja et al. (eds.), Sensors in Water Pollutants Monitoring: Role of Material,
Advanced Functional Materials and Sensors,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0671-0_4
43
on the Environment and Human Health
Sughosh Madhav, Arif Ahamad, Amit K. Singh, Jyoti Kushawaha,
Joginder Singh Chauhan, Sanjeev Sharma and Pardeep Singh
Abstract Water is the most crucial commodity for life support process in organism. Water is basic and mandatory need for the humans and the entire living
creature on earth. Therefore, the consumption of water by human should be safe,
easily accessible, adequate and free from any kind of contamination. Pollutants in
water bodies pose a severe threat to human health as well as aquatic ecosystem.
There are numbers of water pollutant which has been categorized into inorganic
pollutants, organic pollutants, pathogens, thermal pollution, and radioactive pollutants etc. In the current review an endeavor has been made to recognize the water
pollution based on biological and chemical indicator and categorize the water
pollutant on the basis of different source and origin. A brief discussion on different
water pollutants, their source in atmosphere and impact on environment and human
health is also done in this study. In this study a concise discussion has been done on
some traditional water pollutants like nutrients (NO 3 and PO 4 ), Halogen (Cl, Br and
F), heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Al, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni and Hg), organic pollutants
(POPs, EDS and pesticides), and microbial pollutants. Some emerging crisis related
to water pollution in recent past is like microplastic, thermal pollution, radioactive
pollution and suspended solids and sediments are also included in this study.
Keywords Water pollution Á Nutrients Á Halogen Á Heavy metals Á Organic
pollutants Á Human health
S. Madhav (&) Á A. Ahamad Á A. K. Singh Á J. Kushawaha
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110067, India
e-mail: sughosh.madhav@gmail.com
J. S. Chauhan Á S. Sharma
Centres for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi 110067, India
P. Singh
P. D. D. A. V. College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110065, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
D. Pooja et al. (eds.), Sensors in Water Pollutants Monitoring: Role of Material,
Advanced Functional Materials and Sensors,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0671-0_4
43