Published Paper Details:

The Pulp and paper mill effluent waste contained significant amount of cadmium, mercury and lead much more than prescribed limit by Pollution Control Board is deadly toxic. The effluent of this industry is discharged into River Nagavali without any biological treatment. The effluent mixed river water is used for irrigation into crop fields contained significant amount of cadmium. The cadmium metal is absorbed by both target and non-target live systems inhabiting in the crop fields. The cyanobacterium (BGA) selected is an inhabitant of the crop fields, which fixes atmospheric nitrogen and acts as a biofertilizer suffers the most. The present study aims at understanding the impact of cadmium on the growth and pigment content of the blue-green alga under laboratory controlled conditions. The alga absorbed significant amount of cadmium from the crop fields. The growth of the alga significantly reduced at lethal concentrations. However at maximum allowable concentration, no impact was noticed. The pigments like total chlorophyll, total pheophytin content and carotenoid content significantly depleted at higher concentrations of cadmium chloride except at sub-lethal concentration where either no impact or little stimulation was noticed. The study indicated dual impact of cadmium chloride indicating no harm at sub-lethal concentration and inhibition at higher concentration.