Bioaccumulation of lead in milk of buffaloes from Cooum River Belt in Chennai.

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals has been studied in aquatic flora and fauna to a greater extent than in terrestrial animals. Hence, this study was performed to find out whether lead was excreted in the milk of buffaloes reared near the Cooum belt which was fed by contaminated feed and polluted water from the nearby wells. The concentrations of lead in milk of buffaloes fed under farm conditions were also studied. The results have indicated that the ground water (0.32 microg ml(-1)) and feed (8.62 microg g(-1)) are the sources of lead in buffalo milk (0.06 microg ml(-1)). It revealed that one unit increases of lead in water and feed corresponded to an increase of 77.38 and 37.77 units respectively in milk of buffaloes reared near the contaminated watercourse. However, the milk of buffaloes from Central Cattle Breeding Farm is free from lead (0.013 microg ml(-1)) pollution. The reason for bioaccumulation of lead in the milk of buffaloes reared near the sewage carrying river is due to drinking of contaminated ground water from wells and bore-wells dug near the river.