Integrating chemical speciation into India’s environmental policies

Environmental sustainability is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. This is especially true for fast-growing countries like India, since the consumption of materials and energy that drives development and economic growth is also responsible for environmental harms such as pollution.¹

India’s government policies and various national missions have made progress in tracking and controlling pollution in the country.^2,3 However, most of these monitoring systems measure only the total concentration of a pollutant,⁴ and do not determine its specific chemical form.^5,6

The form in which a chemical element exists in the environment – its speciation – determines many properties that affect its environmental fate, such as its mobility, reactivity, bioavailability and toxicity. Policy and management decisions that ignore chemical speciation may therefore misrepresent ecological status and lead to ineffective interventions.^7,8

For instance, hexavalent chromium (Cr(vi)) is a highly toxic and mobile industrial pollutant, whereas the less soluble and less harmful trivalent chromium (Cr(iii)) is an essential nutrient.⁹ Similarly, while most mercury species are less toxic, certain microbes can convert inorganic mercury into highly toxic methylmercury (CH₃ Hg⁺), which readily bioaccumulates in aquatic food chains and can cause severe neurological damage in humans.¹⁰ Ecological risk is more strongly controlled by the chemical forms of metals and their thermodynamic stability and kinetic lability than by their total concentrations.^11,12

Chemical speciation is crucial for understanding the ecological risk and fate of pollutants, and for planning remediation efforts and setting appropriate safety standards.¹³ However, in India, research and policy on chemical speciation are limited, creating gaps in pollution control and environmental decision making. Integrating chemical speciation into India’s environmental policies and programmes is essential for accurate risk assessment, targeted pollution control, and to achieve India’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

International comparisons in environmental monitoring policies

Developed countries have integrated chemical speciation study into environmental governance by embedding it into national standards, monitoring frameworks and risk-assessment systems. For example:

EU – standards and monitoring:

The EU’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires environmental quality standards (EQS) to consider relevant chemical forms, species-dependent toxicity and bioavailability. Member states monitor water, sediment and biota to provide a complete picture of ecological risk.¹⁴

US – validated regulatory methods:

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published formal, species-specific methods such as Method 1632 (arsenic speciation), Methods 1630/1631 (mercury and methylmercury), and 7196A/218.7 (hexavalent chromium). These methods ensure accurate, reproducible data for compliance testing and remediation planning.¹⁵

Canada – risk-based guidelines:

Health Canada’s drinking-water and soil guidelines distinguish toxic from benign forms of substances (for example, arsenite versus arsenate, methylmercury versus inorganic mercury) to design effective treatment measures and protect public health.¹⁶

US and Australia – pollutant inventories and chemical management:

The National Pollutant Inventory of Australia¹⁷  and the US Toxics Release Inventory track emissions of species-relevant contaminants such as mercury compounds. This helps regulators and industry to design targeted control strategies and evaluate ecological risk.

EU, UK, Canada, Australia and US – species-specific risk assessment and remediation:

These jurisdictions include bioavailability and chemical transformation modelling (for example, mercury methylation, chromium redox shifts) in higher-tier risk assessments. The results guide decisions on containment, removal, or in-situ treatment at contaminated sites.^18,19

EU, US and Canada – capacity and co-ordination:

Implementation is supported by standardised methods, accredited laboratory networks, guidance documents, and sustained funding for monitoring and research. Regular reviews keep regulatory standards aligned with advances in speciation science.

Gaps in India’s environmental framework

In India, although chemical speciation analysis is not yet explicitly mandated for all environmental assessments, national monitoring guidelines and environmental impact assessments (EIA) frameworks increasingly require risk-based evaluations that depend on information about metal speciation, mobility and bioavailability.

Education curriculum

While environmental science and chemistry programmes often touch upon speciation concepts, dedicated courses focusing solely on this subject are scarce.

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), an initiative by India’s premier institutes, offers online courses in chemical engineering and environmental sciences. However, specific courses delving deeply into chemical speciation are limited.

Dedicated courses on chemical speciation are therefore needed to equip students and professionals with the knowledge to understand the behaviour, toxicity and bioavailability of different chemical species in various environmental scenarios. Integrating chemical speciation into the curriculum would not only enhance academic understanding but also bolster India’s capacity to address complex environmental challenges.

Research landscape 

While there is growing interest in environmental monitoring and pollution control, most research still focuses on total concentrations of metals and pollutants rather than their specific chemical forms. In academia, very few Indian universities and institutions offer dedicated courses or programmes in chemical speciation. Most environmental science or chemistry courses cover it only briefly.

Where such studies are being conducted, they are often localised, and not coordinated nationally, which creates a fragmented landscape.

Furthermore, speciation research is not a major priority in government-funded environmental programmes, resulting in limited grants and institutional support. Speciation research also requires specialised expertise and sustained investment, both of which are currently scarce.

Strategic advantages 

Integrating chemical speciation studies into India’s environmental policy and practice offers several advantages:

Improved regulatory precision:  enables risk-based standards that distinguish between harmful and benign chemical forms, resulting in more effective regulation.

Cost-effective remediation:  optimises resource allocation by targeting the most hazardous species, reducing unnecessary expenditure.

Enhanced public health outcomes:  minimises human exposure to toxic chemical forms, ensuring safer drinking water, food systems and overall well-being.

Alignment with SDGs and climate goals:  better monitoring would strengthen India’s capacity to achieve SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) while advancing national climate resilience.

Global competitiveness:  positions India as a leader in advanced environmental science, fostering international collaboration, innovation, and investment opportunities.

Policy recommendations

To effectively integrate chemical speciation studies into India’s environmental governance, a set of strategic policy interventions is needed. These recommendations aim to strengthen monitoring, research, regulation and human capacity, ensuring that environmental management is informed by the most accurate, species-specific data.

Update national monitoring programmes

Speciation analysis should be incorporated into ongoing monitoring schemes such as the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP), and Soil Health Card initiatives. Routine speciation data would provide more accurate assessments of ecological and human health risks.

Speciation analysis in Environmental Impact Assessments

EIA protocols must mandate speciation studies for priority contaminants in high-risk sectors such as mining, petrochemicals, power generation and metallurgy. This would enable regulators to anticipate site-specific risks and demand evidence-based mitigation measures.

Regional centres of excellence

A network of regional speciation laboratories, supported through public–private partnerships, should be created. These centres would house advanced infrastructure, serve as reference hubs for policymakers, industry, and academia, and provide training and analytical services across the country.

Development of national standards and guidelines

Collaborations with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) should be initiated to frame national standards and guidelines for chemical speciation methods, data interpretation, and reporting formats. Standardisation will improve comparability across studies and support regulatory enforcement.

Investment in human capital, R&D and education

Special fellowships, competitive grants and dedicated R&D funding must be introduced for advancing speciation science, including field-deployable sensors and portable analytical tools. Additionally, India should pioneer academic pathways in speciation science – through specialised courses, electives in environmental science and engineering curricula, and eventually dedicated postgraduate degree programmes. This will create a skilled workforce to sustain long-term national capacity.

Data integration and open access

A national speciation database linked to pollutant inventories should be developed, with open access for researchers, regulators and industries. Data transparency will foster collaboration, enable predictive modelling, and inform adaptive regulation.

Conclusion

The inclusion of chemical speciation studies is anticipated to lead to a paradigm shift in India’s environmental monitoring, regulation, and remediation efforts. For India, where industrialisation, urbanisation, and climate change create interconnected risks, integrating chemical speciation studies into national environmental policy is no longer optional—it is imperative. By investing in infrastructure, training, academic programmes, national standards and regulatory integration, India can:

• Enhance the precision of environmental risk assessments
• Improve the effectiveness of remediation strategies
• Build resilience against emerging pollution and climate challenges.

Prioritising chemical speciation studies will not only strengthen India’s environmental governance but also reaffirm its commitment to evidence-based policymaking and sustainable development. This strategic investment will empower the country to address pollution more effectively while positioning India as a global leader in next-generation environmental science.