Distribution of Heavy Metals in the Seawater aroundNorth Bombay of ONGC’S Western Offshore Field,Arabian Sea, India

摘要

After discovery of oil in western offshore, Mumbai High in 1974, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC),increased its attention towards filed and deployed several rigs and commissioned more than 100 unmanned platforms andprocess platforms. As a socially responsible company ONGC committed to protect environment. Marine environmental pollutionis a worldwide problem; heavy metals are one of the most important pollutants. They are intrinsic, natural constituents ofaquatic environment in small concentrations. In oceans, they originate from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities.Natural processes like atmospheric inputs and aeolian processes set the background values whereas anthropogenic inputs, rapidindustrialization and urbanization in coastal regions, are the main sources of pollution in the marine environment. Heavy metalsare also increasingly introduced to the coastal environments through oceanic dumping and riverine discharge where rivers thatflow via high-populated urban areas may carry these substances to the downstream. It is difficult to remove them completelyfrom the environment once they enter into it.This paper aims to measure the distribution of heavy metals in the sea water samples around North Bombay of ONGC’s westernoffshore filed (NA, NQ, B-48, TPP-TCPP platforms). The data generated through this study to evaluate the health of marineenvironment with respect of heavy metal (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, As, Ba, Pb) analysis. The concentrations of selectedheavy metals (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, As, Ba, Pb) were measured with Inductively Coupled Plasma-MassSpectrometer (ICP-MS). It has been observed that the distribution of heavy metals concentrations in the sea water around theplatform were on absolutely lower side and also are comparable with other ocean. The low metal concentrations are not harmfulfor aquatic and access EandP activities on marine environment.