Mahul mangroves: Oil sludge has heavy metals

The oil sludge dumped on mangroves at Mahul two months ago contains heavy metals such as lead, chromium, cadmium and iron, an analysis carried out by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute revealed, Nikhil M Ghanekar reports.

The oil sludge dumped on mangroves at Mahul two months ago contains heavy metals such as lead, chromium, cadmium and iron, an analysis carried out by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) revealed.

In February, unidentified persons had dumped oil sludge on protected mangroves behind the Mahul SRA complex.

NEERI, in its report, stated that the sludge had affected 0.75 hectares of the 40 hectares of mangroves. It also stated that the “depth of the contaminant at the site was 4 metres”.