Isolation and characterization of chromium-resistant bacteria from tannery effluents
- Univ. of Calcutta (India)
Chromium (Cr), a transition metal, is one of the major sources of environmental pollution. It is discharged into the environment through the disposal of wastes from industries like leather tanning, metallurgical and metal finishing, textiles and ceramics, pigment and wood preservatives, photographic sensitizer manufacturing, etc. In the environment chromium occurs mainly in trivalent and hexavalent forms. The hexavalent chromium (Cr{sup 6+}) compounds are comparatively much more toxic than those of trivalent chromium (Cr{sup 3+}). The reason for such toxicity appears to be due to its rapid permeability through biological membranes and subsequent interaction with intracellular proteins and nucleic acids. The tanning industry, which commonly utilizes {open_quotes}chrome liquor{close_quotes} in the tanning process, discharges the effluents into the environment containing chrome salts in excess of the maximum permissible limits. Sludge deposition from such effluents, therefore, provides a natural environment for enrichment of chromium-resistant bacteria. Chromium-resistant microorganisms from such chromium-contaminated sediments have been isolated by several investigators. The present study was an attempt to evaluate the status of chromium-resistant bacteria in the tannery effluent sediments of Calcutta-based tanning industries. 14 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 535288
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 58, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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