Assessment of Heavy Metals in Ambient Air in the Patancheru Area, Sangareddy District, Telangana

Patancheru is located in the North Western end of Hyderabad, located in Sangareddy district of Telangana State. It is an industrial zone located about 32 km from the city center on the Hyderabad-Solapur highway, and around 18 km from HITEC City. Patancheru is home to many pharmaceutical manufacturers along with residential and commercial areas as well as renowned institutions like ICRISAT and Indian Institute of Technology Patancheru is located at 17.53°N 78.27°E. [2] with an average elevation of 522 meters (1712 feet).[10] The area has more than 400 pharma industries manufacturing bulk drugs and active Pharma intermediates, besides mining activities. The area is also a corridor for IT industry with urbanization resulting in air, water and land pollution. The present paper deals with estimation of Heavy metals in ambient air through ICP-OES, a zone wise contribution of Heavy metals in ambient air in and around Patancheru area of Sangareddy district, from November 2023 to May, 2024 and correlation of the data with the CPCB, USEPA[9] & WHO standards. Air samples from 5 sampling stations were chosen. Ambient air samples collected using High Volume Air Sampler, Model 430 dxn. Heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, As, Cu, Co, Fe, Al, V, Se) were analyzed using ICP-OES. Heavy metal contributions from industrial zone are observed to be higher than the residential and commercial zone and last and least is the sensitive zone.