Appraisal of Chromium Contents from Different Tanneries and Drains of Sialkot

Abstract

The tanning industry is the major chromium consuming industry. Tanning industries are present throughout Pakistan, but their presence is more concentrated in small industrial city Sialkot. The samples of wastewater were collected from different tanneries and Nullah Aik which are situated in Sialkot and analyzed for the measurement of pollution level. The effluents sample demonstrated high values of temperature (32-42°C), pH (5.1-10.9), biological oxygen demand (335-5818 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (740-14546 mg/L), total solids (2265-19314 mg/L), total dissolved solids (1313-17467 mg/L), hexavalent chromium (1.8-9.8 mg/L), and total chromium (3.75-16.7 mg/L). The total chromium analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry and hexavalent chromium determined by UV-Visible Spectrophotometer with DCP. The study focused on the level of pollution in tannery wastewater to estimate the impairment caused by them.