IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i5p2683-d758550.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Heavy Metals in Harvested Rainwater Used for Domestic Purposes in Rural Areas: Yatta Area, Palestine as a Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Fathi Anabtawi

    (Faculty of Graduate Studies, Birzeit University, Birzeit P.O. Box 14, West Bank, Palestine)

  • Nidal Mahmoud

    (Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Birzeit University, Birzeit P.O. Box 14, West Bank, Palestine)

  • Issam A. Al-Khatib

    (Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Birzeit University, Birzeit P.O. Box 14, West Bank, Palestine)

  • Yung-Tse Hung

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA)

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting is considered one of the most important water resources in the Palestinian countryside. In this research, the study area chosen for the study was Yatta town in Hebron city. 75 water samples were collected from 74 cisterns in a number of neighborhoods in Yatta, and a structured household survey was conducted with the same households where the water samples were collected. Statistical analysis was made using the SPSS software. An analysis for the samples was made using ICP-MS to test the existence of a number of heavy metals, namely Pb, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd. The results were compared with the WHO and Palestinian limits for drinking water quality. Considering the metals Mn, Co, Cu and Cd, neither of the samples exceeded any of the two limits. For the metals, Pb, Cr, and Ni, two samples exceeded both limits. For the metal, Zn, one sample exceeded the WHO limit only. Sources of pollution by heavy metals of the harvested rainwater were identified by means of a questionnaire distributed to the households. The results showed that except for nickel and the water collection surface of the cistern factor, there is no direct relationship between the factors and activities that may contribute to contaminate harvested rainwater with heavy metals and the existence of heavy metals beyond local and international limits. Based on the questionnaire and literature: Possible sources of lead and zinc are the roof, storage tanks, distribution systems and plumbing; possible sources of chromium are road dust, asbestos brakes and anthropogenic activities occurring around the house; possible source of nickel is leaching from metals in contact with harvested rainwater such as pipes and fittings which are used to collect the harvested rainwater. In addition, an assessment of the potential health risks due to contamination of the harvested rainwater by heavy metals was made for all the samples that exceeded either WHO limit or the Palestinian limit or both. The Chronic Daily Intake (CDI) and the Health Risk Index (HRI) were calculated. The assessment was made for both adults and children. The results showed that all the samples are considered safe (HRI < 1), which means that there are no potential health risks for consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Fathi Anabtawi & Nidal Mahmoud & Issam A. Al-Khatib & Yung-Tse Hung, 2022. "Heavy Metals in Harvested Rainwater Used for Domestic Purposes in Rural Areas: Yatta Area, Palestine as a Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2683-:d:758550
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2683/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2683/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Józef Ober & Janusz Karwot, 2021. "Tap Water Quality: Seasonal User Surveys in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Han-Saem Lee & Su-Jin Lim & Byung-Ran Lim & Hong-Seok Kim & Heung-Soo Lee & Tae-Ung Ahn & Hyun-Sang Shin, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Evaluation of Water Quality and Hazardous Substances in Small Coastal Streams According to Watershed Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Radosław Wolniak, 2022. "Sharing Economies’ Initiatives in Municipal Authorities’ Perspective: Research Evidence from Poland in the Context of Smart Cities’ Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.
    3. Bradley Cerff & David Key & Bernard Bladergroen, 2021. "A Review of the Processes Associated with the Removal of Oil in Water Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Fanny Soetaert & Heike Wanke & Alain Dupuy & Vanessa Lusuekikio & Eric C. Gaucher & Vincent Bordmann & Jean-Marc Fleury & Michel Franceschi, 2022. "Toward the Sustainable Use of Groundwater Springs: A Case Study from Namibia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Agnieszka Ociepa-Kubicka & Iwona Deska & Ewa Ociepa, 2021. "Organizations towards the Evaluation of Environmental Management Tools ISO 14001 and EMAS," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Tutak, Magdalena & Brodny, Jarosław, 2022. "Analysis of the level of energy security in the three seas initiative countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    7. Józef Ober & Janusz Karwot, 2023. "The Effect of Publicly Available COVID-19 Information on the Functioning of Society, Businesses, Government and Local Institutions: A Case Study from Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-25, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2683-:d:758550. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.