Notable case, Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India
Ranipet (TCCL chromium waste)
ராணிப்பேட்டை
An industrial town in Tamil Nadu where the former chromate works Tamil Nadu Chromate and Chemicals Limited left a chromium waste dump. Hexavalent chromium is found in the groundwater of some fifteen villages around the industrial estate.
At a glance
- Status
- Not addressed
- Media
- groundwater, soil, surface water, sediment
- Kind of site
- chemical works, tanneries
- Area. The sources read give neither the size of the waste dump nor the extent of the contaminated area. A 2024 study found chromium in 33% of groundwater samples taken across 14 villages.
Contaminants
Status
Not addressed
Tamil Nadu Chromate and Chemicals Limited no longer operates, but its chromium waste remains on site and is identified in the literature as the origin of the chromium contamination of water in the Ranipet industrial estate (Veluprabakaran and Kavitha, 2023). The sources read (2026) report no completed clean-up; a microbial immobilisation technique was tested in the laboratory on soil from the site in 2024.
Story
Ranipet hosts tanneries, chemical works and engineering plants. Among them was Tamil Nadu Chromate and Chemicals Limited (TCCL), which made chromates and left its chromium waste on site. The scientific literature is unambiguous about the origin: "the Cr contamination in Ranipet industrial estate is originated from the premises of TCCL" (Veluprabakaran and Kavitha, 2023).
The same study, applying the heavy metal pollution index, obtained average values of 500.42 for groundwater and 523.78 for surface water, with every groundwater sample above the high-pollution threshold, and a concentration order of Cr > Pb > Zn > Cd > Cu > Ni in surface water.
A 2024 hydrogeochemical study found chromium in 33% of groundwater samples collected across 14 villages, with chromium and cadmium as the main contaminants and an elevated estimated cancer risk for vulnerable groups; the water was also found unsuitable for irrigation. In 2025 an analysis of the sediments of Puliyanthangal lake, in the industrial area, attributed the heavy metal concentrations to human activity.
Timeline
- 2023The heavy metal pollution index gives 500.42 for groundwater and 523.78 for surface water; the chromium contamination is traced to the TCCL site.
- 2024Chromium found in 33% of groundwater samples across 14 villages.
- 2024Laboratory trial of chromium immobilisation by microbially induced carbonate precipitation, on Ranipet soils.
Health
The 2024 hydrogeochemical study calculated hazard quotients indicating an elevated cancer risk in vulnerable population groups. No epidemiological surveys on site were consulted.
Plants and fungi at this site
Microbial bioremediationLaboratory, with soil from the site, 2024
Arthrobacter creatinolyticus
Immobilisation of chromium by calcium carbonate precipitation induced by the bacterium Arthrobacter creatinolyticus, tested in solution and on soil samples taken at Ranipet.
Outcome In solution 82.21% of the chromium co-precipitated with the calcium carbonate; in the Ranipet soils the exchangeable chromium fraction fell to 0.54 ± 0.11%. A laboratory trial, not a field one.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Cannabis sativaIndustrial hempEvidence: field
- Festuca rubraRed fescueEvidence: field
- Noccaea caerulescensAlpine pennycressEvidence: field
- Ricinus communisCastor beanEvidence: field
Fungi
- Paxillus involutusBrown roll-rimEvidence: greenhouse
- Pisolithus albusEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Agaricus bisporusButton mushroomEvidence: laboratory
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Mucor circinelloidesEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Sources
- Veluprabakaran V., Kavitha M. Evaluation of heavy metals in ground and surface water using the HPI model (Ranipet industrial estate). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 195(7):875, Springer, 2023
- Krishnamoorthy L., Lakshmanan V.R. Evaluating hydrogeochemistry and heavy metal contamination at Ranipet. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 31(19):28253–28278, Springer, 2024
- Sathish V., Chandrasekaran A., Hamideen M.S., Isinkaye M.O. Impact of industrial activities on the sediments of Puliyanthangal lake. Scientific Reports 15(1):20973, Nature Portfolio, 2025
- Ranipet, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.