Lead: Toxicological Profile, Pollution Aspects and Remedial Solutions

Abstract

Water quality is the keen concern all over the world. As water resources get contaminated naturally or artificially, at last they affect our health as well as economic and social development of the nations. Among the prominent chemical pollutants, lead alone has threatened health of billions due to deterioration in water quality. Thus, safe water for drinking becomes a major worried issue of UNICEF as a major stakeholder in sustaining water quality with responsibility to improve and sustain quality of water through its programs around the world. The mitigation of contaminations through effective techniques is the common global effort toward remedia-tion of pollutions. This chapter has investigated viability of ordinary organic waste and natural polymeric material like chitin, chitosan, and doped bio-composite adsorbents for the mitigation of Pb 2+ ions from water. The relatively higher adsorp-tion potential of synthesized composites is studied for removing excessive lead concentration from water as tested in batch and column mode. Certain exchange-able metal ions such as Na + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ aid to form solid precipitate, which is effective in Pb 2+ retention and facilitate its adsorption. Certain pilot domestic units provide simple, efficient, and fesasible options for removal of Pb 2+ ions from water.