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N. Pradhan et al.
gastroenteritis, dysentery, fatigue, etc., through their toxin liberation mechanism and
unwanted slime growth that usually creates problems in the water of streams, rivers,
and lakes, which are often found to be associated with fecal (E. coli) contamination
along with such microscopic single-celled anthropogenic markers.
Some other types of contaminants along with inorganic contaminants are quite
common in the mining areas or excavation sites or in the industrial legacy dumping
sites, where the source of radioactivity can be from soils, or geogenic process (water
passes through the rocks) or erosion activities of natural deposits. Usually, natural
deposits of radiological elements (Ra
226/228 , U
226 , Rn
228 ,etc.) are detrimental for
human health considering their radioactive properties. These all may lead to the
enhancement of carcinogenic activities if they are present in groundwater above their
MCL (Binesh et al. 2010; Hakl et al. 1995). A large variety of inorganic contaminants
such as Cd, Pb, Se, Cr, Hg, Cu, Ni can be present in groundwater in the vicinity of
landfill/electroplating metal/leather industry sites, where surface runoff or leaching
phenomena can induce wide ranges of neurological and developmental difficulties
that might result into damage of spleen, liver, cardiovascular systems, dental/skeletal
problems, etc (Shim et al. 2019a, b; Mukherjee et al. 2020). Therefore, it is utmost
important to know the sources, pathways, and actual mode of action of such noxious
metals. Usually, it is found that besides the presence of major cations and anions
(rendering hardness problem in water bodies), co-occurrences of Sb, Be, cyanide,
etc., lead to the deterioration of water quality. These results into subsequent health
risks stemming from natural/industrial and plumbing sources, acting as a potential
agent for endocrine disruptors and reproductive disorders.
In general, it is found that point source of pollution can be derived from spatial
discrete spaces. Industrial outputs, buried septic tanks, municipal solid wastes, hospital effluents, and landfill sites can often contribute to aquatic ecosystems in a large
diverse manner. On the other hand, diffuse sources of pollution can be derived from
large geographical scales and therefore contribute to the lower amount of environmental burden compared to the point sources. These pollutants are difficult to quantify
and monitor for long-term scale, thus they may pose real threat to the ground and
fresh water resources as suggested by Sharma and Bhattacharya (2017). Most of
the studies and researches so far have been focused on direct or point sources of
pollution which can be taken into account for the contamination of different natural
water resources, commonly used for artificial water recharge purposes. The acute
or chronic effects of contaminants can be assessed based on the fate and transport
phenomenon of such agents which is affected by different water treatment processes.
The fate of such compounds largely depends on the physico-chemical properties, i.e.,
K ow , D ow, and chemical features of intricate molecular bindings which on the other
hand control the fundamental processes of contaminant transport, namely sorption,
ion exchange, microbial degradation, etc. Ground water residence time, redox conditions, total chemical loading, hydraulic features, geological control, etc., determine
the surface/subsurface processes of groundwater resources and depict the attenuation process of contaminants through natural processes in the saturated/unsaturated
N. Pradhan et al.
gastroenteritis, dysentery, fatigue, etc., through their toxin liberation mechanism and
unwanted slime growth that usually creates problems in the water of streams, rivers,
and lakes, which are often found to be associated with fecal (E. coli) contamination
along with such microscopic single-celled anthropogenic markers.
Some other types of contaminants along with inorganic contaminants are quite
common in the mining areas or excavation sites or in the industrial legacy dumping
sites, where the source of radioactivity can be from soils, or geogenic process (water
passes through the rocks) or erosion activities of natural deposits. Usually, natural
deposits of radiological elements (Ra
226/228 , U
226 , Rn
228 ,etc.) are detrimental for
human health considering their radioactive properties. These all may lead to the
enhancement of carcinogenic activities if they are present in groundwater above their
MCL (Binesh et al. 2010; Hakl et al. 1995). A large variety of inorganic contaminants
such as Cd, Pb, Se, Cr, Hg, Cu, Ni can be present in groundwater in the vicinity of
landfill/electroplating metal/leather industry sites, where surface runoff or leaching
phenomena can induce wide ranges of neurological and developmental difficulties
that might result into damage of spleen, liver, cardiovascular systems, dental/skeletal
problems, etc (Shim et al. 2019a, b; Mukherjee et al. 2020). Therefore, it is utmost
important to know the sources, pathways, and actual mode of action of such noxious
metals. Usually, it is found that besides the presence of major cations and anions
(rendering hardness problem in water bodies), co-occurrences of Sb, Be, cyanide,
etc., lead to the deterioration of water quality. These results into subsequent health
risks stemming from natural/industrial and plumbing sources, acting as a potential
agent for endocrine disruptors and reproductive disorders.
In general, it is found that point source of pollution can be derived from spatial
discrete spaces. Industrial outputs, buried septic tanks, municipal solid wastes, hospital effluents, and landfill sites can often contribute to aquatic ecosystems in a large
diverse manner. On the other hand, diffuse sources of pollution can be derived from
large geographical scales and therefore contribute to the lower amount of environmental burden compared to the point sources. These pollutants are difficult to quantify
and monitor for long-term scale, thus they may pose real threat to the ground and
fresh water resources as suggested by Sharma and Bhattacharya (2017). Most of
the studies and researches so far have been focused on direct or point sources of
pollution which can be taken into account for the contamination of different natural
water resources, commonly used for artificial water recharge purposes. The acute
or chronic effects of contaminants can be assessed based on the fate and transport
phenomenon of such agents which is affected by different water treatment processes.
The fate of such compounds largely depends on the physico-chemical properties, i.e.,
K ow , D ow, and chemical features of intricate molecular bindings which on the other
hand control the fundamental processes of contaminant transport, namely sorption,
ion exchange, microbial degradation, etc. Ground water residence time, redox conditions, total chemical loading, hydraulic features, geological control, etc., determine
the surface/subsurface processes of groundwater resources and depict the attenuation process of contaminants through natural processes in the saturated/unsaturated