In Bangalore a study done by the Central Pollution Control Board to assess the impact of immersion of Ganesh idols on the lakes revealed the following:
The acid content in the waters increased.
The TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) increased by a 100%
The Dissolved Oxygen content increased during the day due to the agitation of waters during immersion and reduced at night when organic discharge increased.
The heavy metal content sampling showed an increase in metals such as iron which increased nearly 10 times and the content of copper in the sediments increased by 200 to 300 %.
Plaster of Paris is a calcium sulfate hemi-hydrate : (CaSO4, ½ H2O) derived from gypsum, a calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4 , 2 H2O), by firing this mineral at relatively low temperature and then reducing it to powder. While idols made out of naturally occurring clay ( shaadu in Marathi) dissolve within hours of immersion in water, PoP idols may take anywhere between several months to years to fully dissolve. In addition, when chemical paints are used to decorate the idols, these paints contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which seep into the water as the idol dissolves.
http://www.e-coexist.com/products/ganesh-chaturthi/the-environmental-impact-of-ganesh-chaturthi
Read a report on the environmental impact of the festival on Husseinsagar lake, M Vikram Reddy and A Vijaykumar
See photographs of the beaches in Mumbai the day after the visarjan, Manish Vij, Ultra Brown
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