Abstract
It is well known that cotton mills produce large amounts of water which is used in various processes such as sizing, desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerization, dyeing, printing, finishing and eventually washing. Contaminated air, soil and water from industrial effluents are associated with heavy disease burdens (WHO, 2002) and this may be one of the reasons for the current shorter life expectancy in the world (WHO, 2003) relative to developed nations. Some of the heavy metals in these effluents (either in free form in effluents or in suspended solids) from the industry have been found to be carcinogenic (Tamburlini et al., 2002) while other chemicals similarly present are toxic depending on the dosage and length of exposure (Kupchella and Hyland, 1989). These chemicals are not only harmful to humans but also found to be toxic to marine life (WHO, 2002) and may result in food pollution (Novick, 1999). Sulfide and metal contaminants such as fluoride, arsenic, molybdenum, etc. cause many harmful effects on life directly indirectly.
The Bhilwara district of Rajasthan and the surrounding areas are well known for the textile industry. It produces about 75% of the country's textile products. There are about 500 synthetic textile units on the outskirts of Bhilwara on the Chittorgarh, Gangapur and Mandal road involved in dyeing, weaving and spinning, but there is also a dark side. The industry's weak effluent management system has long contaminated areas affecting air, surface, water, agricultural land and human health. Poisoned Water(2004), a report by the Department of Public Health Engineering, found that most of the open wells in the villages near the Banas River, which lie beside the industrial belt, had chromium, lead, iron, zinc and sodium above the levels set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (Srinivasan,2007). Lead is particularly detrimental to children's brain and nervous systems. These chemicals were identical to those present in the textile waste unit. Experts worry that it will soon reach the city center and begin to make ground water toxic, which is used for domestic purposes. This study therefore analyzes the textile contaminants and their environmental strength of Bhilwara Tehsil in terms of their socio-economic and demographic context. The primary survey included field visits and questionnaires for the analysis. We reviewed a variety of different governmental reports, literature, academic textbooks, and newspapers to learn more about the subject. As stated earlier, steps have been placed in place to reduce the effects of the pollution in the water bodies. There is still a lot of work yet to be completed, although policy formulation and execution remains somewhat on the conservative side.