Determination and Analysis of Heavy Elements in Soil and Fluoride in Groundwater of Jamui District, Bihar (India)

Elevated concentration of heavy metals in soil and water pose potential long-term environmental and health concerns. Spatial variability of heavy metal concentrations in soils is the basic information for identifying the possible sources of contamination and describes the strategies of site remediation. A total of 18 representative samples were collected from different places of Jamui District, Bihar (India). Mostly groundwater samples were found to be within the permissible limits of pH viz., 6.6–8.5. Specific conductivity of soil was calculated by method of specific ion was found between 250–750 uS which was good for irrigation ( IS 10500:1991 ). Determination of heavy elements in soil was done by technique ICP-AES, samples were prepared on the hot plate in the Teflon vessel by digesting the soil with the acids HF, HCl, and HNO3. Fluoride content in water samples was calculated by the Spadns method and fluoride concentration was found to be greater than 1.5mg/l which was very Hazardous for human health as above this concentration will cause dental fluorosis and above 2mg/l concentration will cause skeletal fluorosis. Various contour mapping using software Surfer 12 was done to predict the level of contamination in an area.