Environmental Contamination, Toxicology and Impact Assessment

Environmental monitoring is crucial for maintaining the ecological integrity in any given area. It describes the environmental status in pre and post project implementation stage. It plays pivotal role in monitoring further damages to the ecosystem with an intention of containing the severity of the problem. Lack of scientific and systematic monitoring studies have been responsible for gradual degradation in the quality of environment in any given area. Environmental monitoring provides an opportunity in identifying costly and undesirable effects during the post project implementation as well. Timely appraisal allows better mitigatory and management planning. Environmental monitoring studies should be therefore considered as a welcome step for sustainable development and thereby safeguard social, economical and ecological integrity of a given region.

GUIDE, with its interdisciplinary expertise, has been undertaking various environmental assessment studies with aim of providing ecologically sustainable developments that are environment friendly, economically feasible and socially acceptable. Under this theme, technical expertise is provided for undertaking EIA Studies, Short-term and Long-term Environmental Monitoring Programmes (aimed at specific target groups / corporate sectors), and Assessment of Environmental Contaminants and their Toxicological Implications.
The EIA division has been instrumental in:

1. Regional Environmental Assessments: EIA to REIA
2. Facilitating scientific understanding of a given region in terms of its environmental and ecological status in and around the areas of interest and which seek urgent attention – additional data base generation,
3. Identifying and assessing the scale of the problem arising due to the either deliberate developmental interventions or natural consequence of some of the existing activities in the surrounding vicinity;
4. Suggesting suitable and relevant remedial measures as and when necessary; and
5. Preparing environmental management plan including conservation plan for protected areas (PAs) and wildlife habitats. These in total would contribute to the cause of sustainable development and overall conservation of natural resources for local denizens; and
6. Environmental Carrying Capacity studies: Assessing carrying capacity of a given region in terms of accommodating industrial burden – stimulating sustainability in industrial growth and environmental conservation.
7. Environmental Monitoring: Short-term and Long-term Environmental Monitoring Programme focusing on specific issues.

Under the EIA theme, GUIDE offers services on the following areas:

• Environmental Impact Assessment of proposed and/or ongoing industrial and/or developmental projects
  • Mining and Minerals
  • Coastal and marine developments
  • Ports and Harbours
  • River basin studies and irrigation projects
• Environmental Monitoring and Planning
  • Monitoring of Physical, Biological and Social Environs in and around various industrial clusters
• Environmental Action Plans
  • Biodiversity Action Plan for various mining clusters
• Third Party Evaluation of various ecological restoration and/or reclamation projects undertaken by corporate sector
• Industrial Environmental Auditing {as Schedule-I Environmental Auditor recognized by Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), Gandhinagar} for the following categories:
  • Metal Processing industries
  • Thermal Power Plant
  • Cement Manufacturing (Clinkerisation)
  • Jetty Projects (Industries)
  • Biomedical Waste Management
  • Chemical Manufacturing (Caustic soda etc)
  • CETP of Electroplating association.

The environmental monitoring programme includes Physical, Biological and Social aspects of Environment. In addition, third party environment audit / evaluation of various industrial environments have been one of the core areas under EIA theme.  Moreover, looking into the inevitable impact of anthropogenic activities, attempts are also made to assess the different chemical residues in environmental compartments. Currently, the contaminants of interests are heavy metals, pesticides and petroleum hydrocarbons. Emphasis is given in assessing the level of accumulation of these contaminant residues in different habitats and their biomagnification in food chains. Currently, fishes and birds are the model organisms in such studies. Studies on biomarkers, as early warning systems in assessing exogenous contamination in organisms, are also being planned to be initiated soon.