3.

4 O RG AN ICALLY BO U N D
M ETAL AN D M ETALLO ID
Water Pollution

Introduction

Organically bound metal and metalloid is

interaction between metal and organic ( Metal organic interaction ) .
Metal and metalloid make up about 75% of all
elements on the periodic table and they are
found as ions and complex compound
throughout the hydrosphere .

 Metal organic interaction may increase or

decrease the toxicity of metals in aquatic
ecosystem and they strong influenced on
growth of algae in H2O.
The interaction of metals and organic
compounds is of utmost importance in
determining the role played by the metal in
aquatic system .

Im portance of M etals in H ydrosphere

Metals are environmental interest because of their influence
in biological processes.
Eg: Potassium and calcium are important nutrients required
in substantial amounts by plants , animals and
microorganisms .
Other metals such as zinc and copper are nutrients but the
amount required for microorganisms is small amount . If
present in excessive amounts , it can be a toxic.

W hat is M etalloid ?

Contamination of water by other metals and

metalloid(semi-metal) occurs at locales throughout
the world.
The widespread contamination of groundwater in
Bangladesh and eastern India by the semi metal
arsenic .

Arsenic
Element 33
Located below phosphorus in periodic table.
The World Health Organization (WHO) safe limit
for arsenic in drinking water is 0.01 mg/L.
In Bangladesh the maximum permissible limit
is 0.05 mg/L.
Bangladesh now show a level of contamination
higher then the maximum permissible limit


Standard-Ais applied if the point of discharge into the
river isupstreamfrom a water intake point for
consumption or water catchment areas;
Standard-Bis applied if the point of discharge into the
river isdownstreamfrom a water intake point for
consumption or water catchment areas

Sources of Arsenic

The combustion of fossil fuels , particular coal have

introduce large quantities of arsenic into the
environment
Arsenic occurs with phosphate minerals and enter
the environment along with phosphate compound.

 Other sources of arsenic is mine tailings .

Arsenic produced as a by-product of copper , gold and lead
refining exceeds the commercial demand for arsenic and
accumulates as waste material .

Arsenic may be converted to more mobile and toxic methyl

derivatives by bacteria .
Effect of Arsenic :skin changes such as thickening and
pigmentation.

Types of m etal-organic Interaction

Theres two major types of metal-organic interaction :
- Complexation
- Chelation
This interaction involving reversible binding of metal ion and
ligand species.
Metal organic interaction may involve organic species of both
pollutant ( eg: EDTA) and natural ( eg: fulvic acids ) origin
EDTA= Ethylenediaminetetraacetate

M etal-organic interaction
Influenced by and sometimes play role in :
Redox equilibria
Formation and dissolution of precipitates
Colloid formation
Stability
Acid-base reaction
Microorganism-mediated reaction in H2O

Com plexation
Achemicalreactionthattakesplacebetweenametalio
nandligand. The product of this reaction called
complex / complex ion / coordination compound .
Ligand is the species that bound with metal ion .
Metal ion + ligand
compound + H2O .

Coordination

Application

Non-toxic complexation agents / solubilizers have

numerous applications in the biomedical field.
Study of solubility , dissolution and potential drug
integral part of Pharmaceutical
Science
Drug must be soluble in H2O and lipids in order to get
proper receptor and bind to receptor to elicit
pharmacological response .

Chelation

Chelation is a special case of complexation in which a ligand

bonds in two or more places with metal ions.
Chelating agent = has more than one atom that may be
bonded to a central metal ion at one time to form a ring
structure.

O rganom etallic Com pounds

Containing carbon-to-metal-bound
Do not dissociate reversibly at lower pH or
greater dilution

M ethylm ercury
Example of organometalic compounds ( arganomercury
compound )
effect
Children
as loss of IQ points
decreased performance
in tests of language
skills and memory
function
attention deficits

Adults
increased risk of
cardiovascular disease
including heart attack.
autoimmune effects in
sensitive individuals.

 A study by U.S. researcher Peter Frederick suggests

methylmercury may increase male
homosexuality in birds: Except a control group, all of
160 captured youngibiseswere given small amounts of
methylmercury with their food. The reproductive
behavior of these coastal wading birds changed in such
a way, that the more methylmercury was ingested the
more male birds choose to build nests with other males,
and snub femalesHowever, the building of nests with
other males does not necessarily point to "homosexual"
behavior, but rather non-sexual psychological disorder

Eff
ect
Diseases
- Pink Diseases
- Minamata

Pink D isease
Caused by exposure mercury .
Is named after symptom that causes bright pink color
of the hands and feet.
Others names for pink disease is acrodynia ,
erythroedema , Feers disease , infantile mercury (Hg)
poisoning and Swifts disease .

M inam ata D isease

referred as Chisso M inam ata disease

Is a neurologicalsyndrom e caused by
m ercury poisoning .
Minamata disease was first discovered
inMinamatacity inKumamoto prefecture
,Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the
release ofmethylmercuryin the
industrialwastewaterfrom theChisso
Corporation's chemical factory, which
continued from 1932 to 1968

Symptoms includeataxia,
numbnessin the hands and
feet, general
muscle weakness, narrowing
of thefield of vision, and
damage tohearingand
speech. In extreme cases,
insanity,paralysis,coma,
anddeathfollow within
weeks of the onset of symptoms