ANALYSIS OF HEAVY METALS IN GROUND WATER, USING WITH GIS TECHNIQUE - A CASE STUDY OF EAST COAST FROM BAMBAN TO THIRUVANMIYUR IN TAMILNADU, INDIA.

The present study aims at the spatial distribution of heavy metal contamination in east coastal area, Tamilnadu, India using interpolation techniques in geographical information system. This paper assesses the groundwater quality with respect to heavy metal contamination and its effect in east coastal region. Ground water samples were collected during post monsoon (Jan), summer (May) and pre monsoon seasons (Aug) in the year-2011 from both open and dug wells in the study area of 771km and analyzed for eight trace elements such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Zn, As and Hg results observed in most of the places the concentrations of heavy metals were above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) recommendations of WHO except Zn, Cu, As, Cr and Hg. Therefore, more places were not suitable for drinking purpose in man. The spatial variation maps deciphering different zones of heavy metal concentration in the ground water were generated in a GIS (geographic information system) based environment using ArcGIS 9.3.1. The results reveal that heavy metal contamination in the area is mainly due to anthropogenic activities.