INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Volume 3, No 5, 2013 © Copyright by the authors - Licensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.0 Research article ISSN 0976 – 4402 Received on September 2012 Published on March 2013 1446 Study of physicochemical conditions of discarded diesel contaminated Locoshed pond near Burdwan locomotives of Burdwan, West Bengal Subhamita Chatterjee, Munmun Chhatri, Aloke Kumar Mukherjee, Tarakeshwar Senapati, Apurba Ratan Ghosh Department of Environmental Science, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, West Bengal, India mr.alokemukherjee@gmail.com doi:10.6088/ijes.2013030500015 ABSTRACT Studies on the physicochemical characteristics of the diesel fed loco-shed pond adjacent to Barddhaman (Burdwan) Railway Station of the Burdwan town were carried out in different seasons, i.e., winter, pre-summer, and summer during the year of 2009 - 2010. Sampling was done from the pre-determined four points (P 1 N, P 2 N, P 3 S and P 4 S) to evaluate the impact of oil pollution on the physicochemical status of the water body. Various physicochemical parameters were analyzed, including water temperature, water pH, water conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity, chloride, total hardness, calcium and magnesium hardness, BOD, COD, total iron, reactive silica, ammonia, nitrogen, sodium, potassium, nitrate- nitrogen, sulfate, TDS, TSS and, oil and grease content of the water. Oil and grease content is very high in the summer season. The main inlet point of discarded diesel in this pond is P 3 S, where oil concentration is very high up to 6000 mg.L -1 . Keywords: Physicochemical, locoshed Pond, discarded diesel and grease, Burdwan. 1. Introduction The study of environment and the impacts of human activities on natural ecosystems have recently become a worldwide concern. According to Sheehan et al., (1984), the release of long persistent chemicals lead to an exposure level which ultimately depends on the time of the chemical remains in the environment before ultimate removal of the chemical. The condition and health of the aquatic environment is constantly being monitored so that the effect of pollution can be better understood and its impact can be reduced. Pollution of the aquatic environment occurs mainly from different sources like sewage disposal, land runoff, industrial wastes, rail way engine shed etc. Pollution of petroleum discharge is considered as a worldwide problem (Pauluis, 1979). When a petroleum product is spilled in or on water, a series of changes occur to its physical and chemical properties. The fate of oil once it is discharged into the aquatic environment depends on the conditions and hydrodynamics of the receiving water. The discharged oil is diluted within the receiving water but to what extent depend on the size of the recipient. Grahl-Nielsen (1987) dyed the discharge water from an offshore operation and found that the discharge was unevenly distributed in the recipient waters. Diesel oil, a major product of crude oil and its constituents act as major sources of environmental pollution. With the combined dependence on diesel oil by some vehicles and generators, greater amount is being used in transportation over long distances. Therefore, diesel oil is entering into the environment through leakage of oil tankers carrying diesel oil, cleaning of diesel tanks and engines, war ships carrying diesel oil and motor mechanics (Hill and Moxey, 1980).