Inorganic pollutants in the Padma River, Bangladesh

The water and bed-sediment pollution status of the Padma River was determined by analysis of representative samples for selected metals and ions. Water and bed-sediment samples were collected at a T-dam, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, for 7 months. Water and silt-metal content analysis was performed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry or other analytical methods. The data showed the variation of the metal ion-levels in water as follows: Ca 17.11–48.37 ppm, Na 17.51–20.09 ppm, K 1.00–3.60 ppm, Cr 2.80–7.00 ppm, and SO₄ 4.17–5.48 ppm; in bed sediment, the levels were Cr 35–1050 ppm and Pb 12–48 ppm. The occurrence of Na, K and Ca was in the normal range (US EPA permissible limit), but the levels of Cr in water were much higher than the permissible limit. The SO₄ ion content was well below the pollution level. The concentration of Pb in the bed sediment was within the permissible limit for the standard International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Soil-5a, but the concentration of Cr in the bed sediment was significantly higher than the permissible limit for the standard IAEA Soil-5a. Thus the Padma river water was polluted with Cr. The occurrence of some ions showed a monthly variation. Received: 19 August 1999 · Accepted: 12 October 1999