Health risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in groundwater of a karst basin, SW China
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Abstract:
To investigate the presence of metal elements and assess their health risk for the populace in the Nandong Underground River Basin (NURB), we conducted an analysis of eleven common heavy metals in the water body. A Health risk assessment (HRA) model was employed to analyze 84 water samples from the NURB. The detection results revealed the following order of heavy metals concentrations: Fe > Al > Mn > Zn > As > Cd > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cu > Hg. Correlation analysis indicated a certain similarity in material source and migration transformation among these eleven metal elements. Our study identified that the health risks for local residents exposed to metal elements in the water of NURB primarily stem from carcinogenic risk (10−6–10−4 a−1) through the drinking water pathway. Moreover, the health risk of heavy metal exposure for children through drinking water was notably higher than for adults. The maximum health risks of Cr in both underground and surface water exceeded the recommendation standard (5.0×10−5 a−1) from ICRP, surpassing the values recommended by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Dutch Ministry of Construction and Environment and the British Royal Society (5.0×10−6 a−1). The results of the health risk assessment indicate that Cr in the water of NURB is the primary source of carcinogenic risk for local residents, followed by Cd and As. Consequently, it is imperative to control these three carcinogenic metals when the water was used as drinking water resource.
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Table 1. Values of parameters related to health risk assessment
Metal PC
(10−3/cm·h−1)SF/(kg·d)·mg−1 RfD/mg·(kg·d)−1 Drinking water Skin penetration Drinking water Skin penetration Carcinogenic As 1.8 1.5 3.66 / / Cr 2 41 41 / / Cd 1 6.1 6.1 / / Non-carcinogenic Al 10 / / 0.14 0.14 Cu 0.6 / / 0.04 0.012 Pb 0.004 / / 0.0014 0.00042 Zn 0.6 / / 0.3 0.01 Fe 0.1 / / 0.3 0.045 Ni 0.1 / / 0.02 0.0054 Mn 0.1 / / 0.046 0.0018 Hg 1.8 / / 0.0003 0.0003 Note: *No reference standard value; PC, permeability coefficient; SF, slope factor; RfD, reference daily intake. 
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Table 2. Concentrations of metals in the water of Nandong Groundwater River Basin (μg·L−1)
Metals n=84 Scope Average Standard deviation Variation coefficient Exceed standard limitation (%) Al 9.90–5,274.00 440.04 913.09 2.08 38.10 Cu nd–26.70 2.34 4.75 2.03 0 Pb nd–124.00 3.62 15.43 4.26 2.38 Zn nd–1,311.00 82.39 211.24 2.56 1.19 Fe nd–7,790.00 486.83 1,127.61 2.32 26.19 Cr 1.10–10.70 3.47 2.08 0.60 0 Cd nd–61.00 3.63 10.34 2.85 7.14 Ni 0.78–13.90 2.99 2.22 0.74 0 Mn 2.44–2,035.00 113.13 276.85 2.45 15.48 As nd–54.70 6.13 8.01 1.31 17.86 Hg nd–0.94 0.41 0.26 0.63 40.48 Metals n=84 China US EPA WHO Drinking water (Limits) Surface water（Ⅲ） Ground water（Ⅲ） Drinking water Drinking water Al 200 – 200 – 200 Cu 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,300 2,000 Pb 10 50 10 15 10 Zn 1,000 1,000 1,000 – – Fe 300 – 300 – 300 Cr 50 50 50 100 50 Cd 5 5 5 5 3 Ni 20 – 20 – 70 Mn 100 100 100 – 400 As 10 50 10 10 10 Hg 1 0.1 1 *nd means not detected, –means no corresponding reference value.
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Table 3. Pearson correlation matrix for metal elements and pH in the water samples
n=84 EC pH Al Cu Pb Zn Fe Cr Cd Ni Mn As Hg EC 1.000 0.164 −0.042 0.083 0.031 0.177 −0.064 0.033 0.124 0.140 0.023 0.163 0.060 pH 1.000 0.045 0.040 0.134 −0.022 0.032 0.179 −0.070 0.109 0.024 −0.041 −0.147 Al 1.000 0.746** 0.579** 0.240* 0.929** 0.632** 0.037 0.916** 0.652** 0.290** −0.201 Cu 1.000 0.756** 0.692** 0.700** 0.479** 0.171 0.805** 0.920** 0.282** −0.172 Pb 1.000 0.285** 0.490** 0.351** 0.112 0.690** 0.486** 0.268* −0.103 Zn 1.000 0.166 0.210 0.469** 0.327** 0.757** 0.060 0.016 Fe 1.000 0.641** 0.014 0.836** 0.659** 0.447** −0.207 Cr 1.000 0.199 0.643** 0.431** 0.169 −0.292** Cd 1.000 0.095 0.141 0.032 0.297** Ni 1.000 0.657** 0.206 −0.237* Mn 1.000 0.294** −0.154 As 1.000 −0.014 Hg 1.000 * Significant at 0.05 level.
* * Significant at 0.01 level.
EC means Electrical Conductivity
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Table 4. Annual per capita health risks caused by metals in different types of water though drinking water and skin penetration, respectively (a−1)
Exposure way Metals Groundwater Surface Water Adults Children Adults Children Drinking water Carcinogenesis As /–1.93×10−5 /–2.30×10−5 6.91×10−7–
4.30×10−58.24×10−7–
5.12×10−5Cr 5.11×10−5–
2.30×10−46.09×10−5–
2.74×10−42.36×10−5–
2.30×10−42.81×10−5–
2.74×10−4Cd /–1.95×10−4 /–2.32×10−4 /–4.67×10−6 /–5.56×10−6 No-carcinogenesis Al 4.53×10−11–
1.97×10−85.39×10−11–
2.35×10−83.70×10−11–
1.69×10−84.41×10−11–
2.01×10−8Cu /–3.50×10−10 /–4.16×10−10 2.23×10−12–
2.70×10−102.65×10−12–
3.21×10−10Pb /–4.64×10−8 /–5.53×10−8 /–1.64×10−8 /–1.95×10−8 Zn /–2.29×10−9 /–2.73×10−9 /–7.67×10−11 /–9.13×10−11 Fe /–8.31×10−9 /–9.90×10−9 /–1.36×10−8 /–1.62×10−8 Ni 3.85×10−11–
3.64×10−104.59×10−11–
4.34×10−102.04×10−11–
2.86×10−102.43×10−11–
3.40×10−10Mn 2.78×10−11–
2.31×10−83.31×10−11–
2.76×10−86.07×10−11–
1.44×10−87.23×10−11–
1.72×10−8Hg /–1.54×10−9 /–1.83×10−9 /–1.64×10−9 /–1.96×10−9 Drinking water Carcinogenesis As /–4.40×10−7 /–3.37×10−7 1.57×10−8–
9.78×10−71.21×10−8–
7.49×10−7Cr 5.30×10−7–
2.38×10−64.06×10−7–
1.83×10−62.45×10−7–
2.38×10−61.87×10−7–
1.83×10−6Cd /–1.01×10−6 /–7.74×10−7 /–2.42×10−8 /–1.85×10−8 No-carcinogenesis Al 2.35×10−12–
1.02×10−91.80×10−12–
7.83×10−101.92×10−12–
8.75×10−101.47×10−12–
6.71×10−10Cu /–3.62×10−12 /–2.78×10−12 2.31×10−14–
2.80×10−121.77×10−14–
2.14×10−12Pb /–3.21×10−12 /–2.46×10−12 /–1.13×10−12 /–8.68×10−13 Zn /–2.14×10−10 /–1.64×10−10 /–7.15×10−12 /–5.48×10−12 Fe /–2.87×10−11 /–2.19×10−11 /–4.70×10−11 /–3.59×10−11 Ni 7.39×10−14–
6.99×10−135.66×10−14–
5.35×10−133.92×10−14–
5.48×10−133.00×10−14–
4.20×10−13Mn 3.68×10−13–
3.07×10−102.82×10−13–
2.35×10−108.04×10−13–
1.91×10−106.16×10−13–
1.46×10−10Hg /–1.43×10−11 /–1.10−11 /–1.53×10−11 /–1.17×10−11 “/”means no calculation results.
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