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Ullah Z, Younas F, Bacha AUR, Rashid A, Al-Onazi WA, Sardar MF. Occurrence of toxic elements in river areas along drains and groundwater resources: source of contamination and associated health risk. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:480. [PMID: 38676764 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12648-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
The objective of the current research was to examine the water quality of the River Ravi and the River Sutlej, with a specific focus on potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Additionally, we sought to monitor the sources of pollution in these rivers by gathering samples from the primary drains that carry industrial and municipal waste into these water bodies. Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate the impact of PTEs in surface water on groundwater quality by collecting groundwater samples from nearby populated areas. A total of 30 samples were collected from these three sources: rivers (6 samples), drains (9 samples), and groundwater (15 samples). The analysis revealed that the levels of PTEs in the samples from these three resources having a mean value: arsenic (As) 23.5 µg/L, zinc (Zn) 2.35 mg/L, manganese (Mn) 0.51 mg/L, lead (Pb) 6.63 µg/L, and chromium (Cr) 10.9 µg/L, exceeded the recommended values set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, PTEs including (As 84%), (Zn 65%), (Mn 69%), (Pb 53%), (Cr 53%), and (Ni 27%), samples were beyond the recommended values of WHO. The results of the Principal Component Analysis indicated that surface water and groundwater exhibited total variability of 83.87% and 85.97%, respectively. This indicates that the aquifers in the study area have been contaminated due to both natural geogenic factors and anthropogenic sources. These sources include the discharge of industrial effluents, wastewater from municipal sources, mining activities, agricultural practices, weathering of rocks, and interactions between rocks and water. Spatial distribution maps clearly illustrated the widespread mobilization of PTEs throughout the study area. Furthermore, a health risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential adverse health effects of PTEs through the ingestion of drinking groundwater by both children and adults. Health risk assessment result show the mean carcinogenic values for As, Cr, Pb and Ni in children are calculated to be (1.88E-04), (2.61E-04), (2.16E-02), and (5.74E-05), respectively. Similarly, the mean carcinogenic values for the above mentioned PTEs in adults were recorded to be (2.39E-05), (3.32E-05), (1.19E-03), and (7.29E-06) respectively. The total hazard index values for As, Zn, Cr, Pb, Mn, Cu, and Ni in children were observed to be (9.07E + 00), (9.95E-07), (4.59E-04), (5.75E-04), (4.72E-05), (2.78E-03), and (5.27E-05) respectively. The analysis revealed that As has an adverse effect on the population of the study area as compared to other PTEs investigated in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahid Ullah
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Fazila Younas
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Aziz Ur Rahim Bacha
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Organic Pol- Lution Prevention and Control, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Abdur Rashid
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Wedad A Al-Onazi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 22452, 11495, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muhammad Fahad Sardar
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Prewarning, Protection and Restoration of Bohai Sea, Ministry of Natural Resources, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.
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Iqbal J, Su C, Ahmad M, Baloch MYJ, Rashid A, Ullah Z, Abbas H, Nigar A, Ali A, Ullah A. Hydrogeochemistry and prediction of arsenic contamination in groundwater of Vehari, Pakistan: comparison of artificial neural network, random forest and logistic regression models. ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2023; 46:14. [PMID: 38147177 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01782-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Arsenic contamination in the groundwater occurs in various parts of the world due to anthropogenic and natural sources, adversely affecting human health and ecosystems. The current study intends to examine the groundwater hydrogeochemistry containing elevated arsenic (As), predict As levels in groundwater, and determine the aptness of groundwater for drinking in the Vehari district, Pakistan. Four hundred groundwater samples from the study region were collected for physiochemical analysis. As levels in groundwater samples ranged from 0.1 to 52 μg/L, with an average of 11.64 μg/L, (43.5%), groundwater samples exceeded the WHO 2022 recommended limit of 10 μg/L for drinking purposes. Ion-exchange processes and the adsorption of ions significantly impacted the concentration of As. The HCO3- and Na+ are the dominant ions in the study area, and the water types of samples were CaHCO3, mixed CaMgCl, and CaCl, demonstrating that rock-water contact significantly impacts hydrochemical behavior. The geochemical modeling indicated negative saturation indices with calcium carbonate and other salt minerals, encompassing aragonite, calcite, dolomite, and halite. The dissolution mechanism suggested that these minerals might have implications for the mobilization of As in groundwater. A combination of human-induced and natural sources of contamination was unveiled through principal component analysis (PCA). Artificial neural networks (ANN), random forest (RF), and logistic regression (LR) were used to predict As in the groundwater. The data have been divided into two parts for statistical analysis: 20% for testing and 80% for training. The most significant input variables for As prediction was determined using Chi-squared analysis. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve and confusion matrix were used to evaluate the models; the RF, ANN, and LR accuracies were 0.89, 0.85, and 0.76. The permutation feature and mean decrease in impurity determine ten parameters that influence groundwater arsenic in the study region, including F-, Fe2+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, HCO3-, and Na+. The present study shows RF is the best model for predicting groundwater As contamination in the research area. The water quality index showed that 161 samples represent poor water, and 121 samples are unsuitable for drinking. Establishing effective strategies and regulatory measures is imperative in Vehari to ensure the sustainability of groundwater resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javed Iqbal
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Chunli Su
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China.
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.
| | - Maqsood Ahmad
- School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | | | - Abdur Rashid
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Zahid Ullah
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Hasnain Abbas
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Anam Nigar
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130022, China
| | - Asmat Ali
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Arif Ullah
- Institute of Geological Survey, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, 430074, China
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Ullah Z, Zeng XC, Rashid A, Ghani J, Ali A, Shah M, Zainab R, Almutairi MH, Sayed AA, Aleya L. Integrated approach to hydrogeochemical appraisal of groundwater quality concerning arsenic contamination and its suitability analysis for drinking purposes using water quality index. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20455. [PMID: 37993472 PMCID: PMC10665467 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40105-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Arsenic (As), contamination in drinking groundwater resources is commonly environmental problem in many developing countries including Pakistan, with significant human health risk reports. In order to examine the groundwater quality concerning As contamination, its geochemical behavior along with physicochemical parameters, 42 samples were collected from community tube wells from District Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. The results showed the concentration of elevated As, its source of mobilization, and associated public health risk. The As concentration detected in groundwater samples varied from 0.12 to 104 µg/L with an average value of 34.7 µg/L. Among 42 groundwater samples, 27 samples were beyond the permitted limit of 10 µg/L recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), for drinking purposes. Statistical analysis result show that the groundwater cations values are in decreasing order such as: Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+, while anions were HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > NO3-. Hydrochemical facies result depict that the groundwater samples of the study area, 14 samples belong to CaHCO3 type, 5 samples belong to NaCl type, 20 samples belong to Mixed CaMgCl type, and 3 samples belong to CaCl2 type. It can be accredited due to weathering and recharge mechanism, evaporation processes, and reverse ion exchange. Gibbs diagram shows that rock water interaction controls the hydrochemistry of groundwater resources of the study area. Saturation Index (SI) result indicated the saturation of calcite, dolomite, gypsum, geothite, and hematite mineral due their positive SI values. The principal component analysis (PCA) results possess a total variability of 80.69% signifying the anthropogenic and geogenic source of contamination. The results of the exposure-health-risk-assessment method for measuring As reveal significant potential non-carcinogenic risk (HQ), exceeding the threshold level of (> 1) for children in the study area. Water quality assessment results shows that 24 samples were not suitable for drinking purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahid Ullah
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Xian-Chun Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.
| | - Abdur Rashid
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Junaid Ghani
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Asmat Ali
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Muddaser Shah
- Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, 23200, Pakistan
- Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Birkat Al Mauz, P.O. Box 33, 616, Nizwa, Oman
| | - Rimsha Zainab
- Department of Botany, Women University Swabi, Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
| | - Mikhlid H Almutairi
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amany A Sayed
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt
| | - Lotfi Aleya
- Chrono-Environnement Laboratory, UMR CNRS 6249, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté University, CEDEX, 25030, Besancon, France
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Tanwer N, Deswal M, Khyalia P, Laura JS, Khosla B. Fluoride and nitrate in groundwater: a comprehensive analysis of health risk and potability of groundwater of Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:267. [PMID: 36602646 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-10886-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater contamination is a major concern in front of the scientific community because it is directly related to human health, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, a comprehensive study was engaged to evaluate the water quality, potability, and human health risk assessment due to the consumption of fluoride- and nitrate-contaminated water in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. In order to assess the water quality, samples were collected from 87 locations in the study region, and a total of 16 parameters were analyzed as per the standard methods. The results showed that the value of the number of quality parameters consisting of pH, EC, TDS, fluoride, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, and total alkalinity was higher than the recommended limit of BIS and WHO. The fluoride in 11% and nitrate in 6% of samples were observed to exceed the permissible limit of WHO. The results of risk assessment due to fluoride and nitrate revealed that hazard index values of 71% of groundwater samples for males, 78% of groundwater samples for females, and 75% of groundwater samples for children were greater than 1, indicating the significant health hazard due to consumption of groundwater. The water quality index (WQI) found that 39% of groundwater samples belong to categories that cannot be used for drinking purposes. Principal component analysis (PCA) reduced the large number of variables affecting the overall quality and chemistry of groundwater and determined four major components which account for 69.50% variance in the data. PCA concluded that both geogenic and anthropogenic sources of contamination influenced the groundwater of the study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naresh Tanwer
- Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India
| | - Meena Deswal
- Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India
| | - Pradeep Khyalia
- Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India
| | - Jitender Singh Laura
- Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India
| | - Babita Khosla
- Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India.
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Ullah Z, Rashid A, Ghani J, Talib MA, Shahab A, Lun L. Arsenic Contamination, Water Toxicity, Source Apportionment, and Potential Health Risk in Groundwater of Jhelum Basin, Punjab, Pakistan. Biol Trace Elem Res 2023; 201:514-524. [PMID: 35171408 DOI: 10.1007/s12011-022-03139-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Potable groundwater (GW) contamination through arsenic (As) is a commonly reported environmental issue in Pakistan. In order to examine the groundwater quality for As contamination, its geochemical behavior, and other physicochemical parameters, 69 samples from various groundwater sources were collected from the mining area of Pind Dadan Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. The results showed the concentration of elevated As, its source of mobilization, and linked public health risk. Arsenic detected in the groundwater samples varied from 0.5 to 100 µg/L, with an average value of 21.38 µg/L. Forty-two samples were beyond the acceptable limit of 10 µg/L of the WHO for drinking purposes. The statistical summary showed that the groundwater cation concentration was in decreasing order such as Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+, while anions were as follows: HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > NO3-. Hydrochemical facies results depicted that groundwater samples belong to CaHCO3 type. Rock-water interactions control the hydrochemistry of groundwater. Saturation indices' results indicated the saturation of the groundwater sources for CO3 minerals due to their positive SI values. Such minerals include aragonite, calcite, dolomite, and fluorite. The principal component analysis (PCA) findings possess a total variability of 77.36% suggesting the anthropogenic and geogenic contributing sources of contaminant. The results of the Exposure-health-risk-assessment model for measuring As reveal significant potential carcinogenic risk exceeding the threshold level (value > 10-4) and HQ level (value > 1.0).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahid Ullah
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Abdur Rashid
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Junaid Ghani
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Muhammad Afnan Talib
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China
| | - Asfandyar Shahab
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, People's Republic of China.
| | - Lu Lun
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou, 510655, China
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Non-Carcinogenic Health Risk Evaluation of Elevated Fluoride in Groundwater and Its Suitability Assessment for Drinking Purposes Based on Water Quality Index. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19159071. [PMID: 35897434 PMCID: PMC9331254 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19159071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Fluoride (F-) contamination in drinking groundwater is a significant human health risk in Pakistan. Moreover, high fluoride pollution in drinking water causes a variety of disorders, including dental, neurological, and skeletal fluorosis. The aim of this research was to evaluate the health risk of elevated fluoride in groundwater and its suitability assessment for drinking purposes. The total of (n = 37) samples were collected from community tube wells of Quetta Valley, Balochistan, Pakistan. The results show a mean pH value of 7.7, TDS of 404.6 mg/L, EC of 500 µs/cm, depth of 96.8 feet, and turbidity of 1.7 nephelometric turbidity units. The mean values of HCO3-, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+, were 289.5, 47.5, 30.6, and 283.3 mg/L, respectively. The mean values of SO42-, NO3-, K+, Cl-, and Fe2+, were 34.9, 1.0, 1.6, 25.6, and 0.01 mg/L, respectively. The F- concentration in the groundwater varied between 0.19 and 6.21, with a mean value of 1.8 mg/L, and 18 samples out of 37 were beyond the WHO recommended limit of 1.5 mg/L. The hydrochemical analysis results indicated that among the groundwater samples of the study area, 54% samples were Na-HCO3 type and 46% were mixed CaNaHCO3 type. The saturation indices of the mineral phases reveal that the groundwater sources of the study area were saturated with CaCO3 and halide minerals due to their positive (SI) values. Such minerals include calcite, dolomite, gypsum, and fluorite. The principal component analysis results reveal that the groundwater sources of the study area are contaminated due to geological and anthropogenic actions. The health risk assessment results of the F- concentrations show the ranges of ADDingestion for children, females, and males in the Quetta Valley, and their mean values were observed to be 0.093052, 0.068825, and 0.065071, respectively. The HQingestion mean values were 1.55086, 1.147089, and 1.084521 for children, females, and males, respectively. It was noticed that children had the highest maximum and average values of ADDingestion and HQingestion in the research area, indicating that groundwater fluoride intake poses the greatest health risk to children. The water quality index (WQI) analyses show that 44% of the samples belong to the poor-quality category, 49% were of good quality, and 8% of the samples of the study area belong to the excellent category.
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