Occurrence of Perchlorate in Drinking, Surface, Ground and Effluent Water from Various Parts of South India

In spite of widespread usage of perchlorate (ClO4 ) for different applications in India, the ClO4 being an environmental pollutant a complete survey study has not been reported yet. Present study investigates the occurrences of ClO4 in the drinking water, ground water, surface water and effluent water from various parts of south India. Water samples were collected from Ambattur, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Tirupati and Vellore and analyzed for ClO4 concentration using ion selective electrode method. Water samples further characterized by pH, salinity, oxidation-reduction potential, conductivity and total dissolved solids. The overall ClO4 concentrations ranges from 0 to 93.5x10 μg l and the highest concentration was detected in real effluent samples from Vellore. Out of 130 samples analyzed, 46.92% water samples contain perchlorate level above 0.10x10 μg l and 24 samples showed ClO4 quantity above 0.70x10 μg l. Mean concentrations of ClO4 in drinking water, ground water, surface water and effluent water found to be 126.08, 830.61, 1110.0 and 15754.4 μg l respectively. The permitted level of ClO4 concentration in drinking water by US environmental protection agency is 4 μg l and irrespective of different sampling points chosen, reconnaissance data reveals that there is no remarkable difference in perchlorate contamination in drinking water samples.