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Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan
Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is a worldwide concern for drinking water safety. Environmental changes and anthropogenic activities are making groundwater vulnerable in Pakistan, especially in Southern Punjab. This study explores the distribution, hydrogeochemical behavior, and pathways o...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2022
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603767/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36293904 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013325 |
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author | Jat Baloch, Muhammad Yousuf Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Dayi Al Shoumik, Baig Abdullah Iqbal, Javed Li, Shuxin Chai, Juanfen Farooq, Muhammad Ansar Parkash, Anand |
author_facet | Jat Baloch, Muhammad Yousuf Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Dayi Al Shoumik, Baig Abdullah Iqbal, Javed Li, Shuxin Chai, Juanfen Farooq, Muhammad Ansar Parkash, Anand |
author_sort | Jat Baloch, Muhammad Yousuf |
collection | PubMed |
description | Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is a worldwide concern for drinking water safety. Environmental changes and anthropogenic activities are making groundwater vulnerable in Pakistan, especially in Southern Punjab. This study explores the distribution, hydrogeochemical behavior, and pathways of As enrichment in groundwater and discusses the corresponding evolution mechanism, mobilization capability, and health risks. In total, 510 groundwater samples were collected from three tehsils in the Punjab province of Pakistan to analyze As and other physiochemical parameters. Arsenic concentration averaged 14.0 μg/L in Vehari, 11.0 μg/L in Burewala, and 13.0 μg/L in Mailsi. Piper-plots indicated the dominance of Na(+), SO(4)(2−), Ca(2+), and Mg(2+) ions in the groundwater and the geochemical modeling showed negative saturation indices with calcium carbonate and salt minerals, including aragonite (CaCO(3)), calcite (CaCO(3)), dolomite (CaMg(CO(3))(2)), and halite (NaCl). The dissolution process hinted at their potential roles in As mobilization in groundwater. These results were further validated with an inverse model of the dissolution of calcium-bearing mineral, and the exchange of cations between Ca(2+) and Na(+) in the studied area. Risk assessment suggested potential carcinogenic risks (CR > 10(−4)) for both children and adults, whereas children had a significant non-carcinogenic risk hazard quotient (HQ > 1). Accordingly, children had higher overall health risks than adults. Groundwater in Vehari and Mailsi was at higher risk than in Burewala. Our findings provide important and baseline information for groundwater As assessment at a provincial level, which is essential for initiating As health risk reduction. The current study also recommends efficient management strategies for As-contaminated groundwater. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9603767 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-96037672022-10-27 Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan Jat Baloch, Muhammad Yousuf Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Dayi Al Shoumik, Baig Abdullah Iqbal, Javed Li, Shuxin Chai, Juanfen Farooq, Muhammad Ansar Parkash, Anand Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is a worldwide concern for drinking water safety. Environmental changes and anthropogenic activities are making groundwater vulnerable in Pakistan, especially in Southern Punjab. This study explores the distribution, hydrogeochemical behavior, and pathways of As enrichment in groundwater and discusses the corresponding evolution mechanism, mobilization capability, and health risks. In total, 510 groundwater samples were collected from three tehsils in the Punjab province of Pakistan to analyze As and other physiochemical parameters. Arsenic concentration averaged 14.0 μg/L in Vehari, 11.0 μg/L in Burewala, and 13.0 μg/L in Mailsi. Piper-plots indicated the dominance of Na(+), SO(4)(2−), Ca(2+), and Mg(2+) ions in the groundwater and the geochemical modeling showed negative saturation indices with calcium carbonate and salt minerals, including aragonite (CaCO(3)), calcite (CaCO(3)), dolomite (CaMg(CO(3))(2)), and halite (NaCl). The dissolution process hinted at their potential roles in As mobilization in groundwater. These results were further validated with an inverse model of the dissolution of calcium-bearing mineral, and the exchange of cations between Ca(2+) and Na(+) in the studied area. Risk assessment suggested potential carcinogenic risks (CR > 10(−4)) for both children and adults, whereas children had a significant non-carcinogenic risk hazard quotient (HQ > 1). Accordingly, children had higher overall health risks than adults. Groundwater in Vehari and Mailsi was at higher risk than in Burewala. Our findings provide important and baseline information for groundwater As assessment at a provincial level, which is essential for initiating As health risk reduction. The current study also recommends efficient management strategies for As-contaminated groundwater. MDPI 2022-10-15 /pmc/articles/PMC9603767/ /pubmed/36293904 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013325 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Jat Baloch, Muhammad Yousuf Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Dayi Al Shoumik, Baig Abdullah Iqbal, Javed Li, Shuxin Chai, Juanfen Farooq, Muhammad Ansar Parkash, Anand Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan |
title | Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan |
title_full | Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan |
title_fullStr | Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan |
title_full_unstemmed | Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan |
title_short | Evolution Mechanism of Arsenic Enrichment in Groundwater and Associated Health Risks in Southern Punjab, Pakistan |
title_sort | evolution mechanism of arsenic enrichment in groundwater and associated health risks in southern punjab, pakistan |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603767/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36293904 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013325 |
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