Heavy Metals in Aquatic Ecosystems

Heavy metals are hazardous environmental pollutants and are becoming one of the most serious environmental problems because of their persistence, toxicity, non-biodegradability, and ability to be incorporated into the food chain. This book provides state-of-the-art techniques and technologies for the assessment and remediation of heavy metal ions from aquatic ecosystems. It discusses sources, fate, transport, health risk assessment, and remediation of heavy metals and the current methods for source identification and tracking, including the use of stable isotopes, fingerprinting techniques, and advancements in molecular biology for environmental monitoring.

Features

• Provides state-of-the-art techniques and technologies for assessment and remediation of heavy metal ions from the aquatic ecosystem.
• Covers up-to-date information on heavy metals pollution in the freshwater ecosystems, rivers, and lakes.
• Discusses the hazardous impacts of heavy metals on various ecosystems including human health, and remediation technologies.
• Explains the toxicity of arsenic and mercury in the food and crop ecosystems.
• Offers in-depth exploration of recent technological advancements in environmental monitoring, especially in relation to toxic elements in aquatic ecosystems.

This book serves as an excellent reference for both professionals and students and is the first of its kind to highlight the toxicity of heavy metals. Researchers, post-graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students in environmental science and engineering, soil and water sciences, biotechnology, and chemical engineering, as well as environmental and technical engineers, ecologists, and applied environmental scientists and managers, will benefit from the extensive coverage given in this book.

Ravindra Kumar Gautam is a Raja Jwala Prasad postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry at BHU Varanasi, India. He has authored and co-authored 52 research and review papers, 22 book chapters, and three books. He is a Fellow of the Indian Chemical Society and has been a Life Member of the Indian Science Congress Association since 2013. He also serves as a reviewer for more than 30 journals. His areas of interest include electrochemical sensors, heavy metal pollution, adsorption of nanomaterials, and their analogues for water and wastewater remediation.

Subhash Chandra is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at B.S.N.V. (KKV) P.G. College, Lucknow, India. He received his PhD from IIT BHU Varanasi, and his research interests include environmental nanotechnology and sensors for biomedical and environmental applications. He has published more than 18 peer-reviewed research articles and four book chapters. He has been awarded by different organizations.

Radha Rani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj, India. She has a PhD in Microbiology from CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur India, and has been teaching for over 15 years. Dr. Radha has published 30 research papers, 10 book chapters, and has edited five conference proceedings. She is also actively involved as a reviewer of more than 20 journals.