Elemental Investigation of River Ganga Water by LIBS

An attempt has been made to investigate occurrence and bioaccumulation of metallic elements in river Ganga water at Allahabad using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy technique. The recorded spectrum shows the presence of atomic lines of the micronutrients (Ti, Si, Cr, Co, Br, Ba, Sr), macronutrients (H, N, Na, O, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, C) and toxic metals (Hg, Pb, Cd). The observed concentration of the detected elements in the river water shows the trend: Ti > H > N > Sr > Hg > Na > Si > O > Mg > Cl > Br > Ba > Cr > K > Cd > Ca > Pb > C > Co. The observation suggests that the use of such water for drinking may lead to potential health risk in long run.