Contamination of Heavy Metals in India
Heavy metal pollution is a great concern for the environment and human health, especially in developing countries like India. Owing to their toxic, non-degradable and bio-accumulative nature, health burden on the population has increased significantly.
Heavy metals have caused great havoc in the environment due to their disruptive effect on ecology and human health. They are persistent and bio-accumulative by nature and toxic to humans. Heavy metals affect humans' vital organs (kidney, lung, heart, etc.) by altering the biochemical routes. Growing scientific evidence suggests that all the states of India are exposed to high levels of heavy metals and pose severe public health concerns. Thus, there is a need to expand the scope of current standards and statutory restrictions and policies to prevent heavy metal contamination and exposure. We recommend biomarker-based assessments of environmental contaminants in the population on a priority basis. The time-stamped and geo-tagged information of environment and public health helps develop actionable policies and mitigation measures. Building capacity to conduct analyses of environmental contaminants through skill training and a network of laboratories is also needed. Therefore, the development and adoption of mitigation measures along with actionable policies are urgently needed.