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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

Author

Listed:
  • Zahid Ullah

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Yifan Xu

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • 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)

  • Asmat Ali

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Javed Iqbal

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Mikhlid H. Almutairi

    (Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia)

  • Lotfi Aleya

    (Chrono-Environnement Laboratory, UMR CNRS 6249, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté University, CEDEX, F-25030 Besancon, France)

  • Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim

    (Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt)

  • Muddaser Shah

    (Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
    Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, P.O. Box 33, Birkat Al Mauz, Nizwa 616, Oman)

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 HCO 3 − , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and Na + , were 289.5, 47.5, 30.6, and 283.3 mg/L, respectively. The mean values of SO 4 2− , NO 3 − , K + , Cl − , and Fe 2+ , 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-HCO 3 type and 46% were mixed CaNaHCO 3 type. The saturation indices of the mineral phases reveal that the groundwater sources of the study area were saturated with CaCO 3 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 ADD ingestion 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 HQ ingestion 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 ADD ingestion and HQ ingestion 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Zahid Ullah & Yifan Xu & Xian-Chun Zeng & Abdur Rashid & Asmat Ali & Javed Iqbal & Mikhlid H. Almutairi & Lotfi Aleya & Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim & Muddaser Shah, 2022. "Non-Carcinogenic Health Risk Evaluation of Elevated Fluoride in Groundwater and Its Suitability Assessment for Drinking Purposes Based on Water Quality Index," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9071-:d:871431
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abdur Rashid & Muhammad Ayub & Zahid Ullah & Asmat Ali & Seema Anjum Khattak & Liaqat Ali & Xubo Gao & Chengcheng Li & Sardar Khan & Hamed A. El-Serehy & Prashant Kaushik, 2022. "Geochemical Modeling Source Provenance, Public Health Exposure, and Evaluating Potentially Harmful Elements in Groundwater: Statistical and Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-28, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pengfei Zhang & Menglin Xiao & Yanyan Dai & Zhaorui Zhang & Geng Liu & Jingbo Zhao, 2022. "Evaluation of Water Quality of Collected Rainwater in the Northeastern Loess Plateau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-16, August.

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