Groundwater Quality and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Middle-West Part of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is a densely populated and developing country that faced severe water contamination, crisis, and security. About 100% of the population has access to the availability of freshwater, but the purity of water is always concerned. The groundwater of Bangladesh is under increasing threat from overexploitation, population growth, rapid urbanization, and pollution from industries, domestic and agricultural sources. For the assessment of heavy and toxic metal contamination in shallow groundwater, the study collected 40 water samples from different stations in the middle-west part of Bangladesh. The results showed that three metals ion, viz. iron, manganese, and lead exceeded the concentration limit of WHO (2011) in most of the water samples indicating severe human health hazard. The single-factor pollution index (I i ) and compound pollution index (CPI) value of these three (3) metals were very high, i.e., much greater than 1. The other metal concentrations were found within the safe permissible ranges. The values of heavy metal pollution indices, viz. heavy metal pollution index (HMPI), heavy metal evaluation index (HMEI), degree of contamination (Cd ), Nemerow Index (NeI), and ecological risk measurement (ERI) showed that most of the water samples were found medium to high levels of contamination in the study area. The analysis results revealed that an average of 32.6%, 15.6%, and 51.8% of the water samples was found low, medium, and high risk from heavy metal, respectively. There were 20 samples found highly contaminated with heavy metals out of 40 samples. The study results revealed that both the geogenic and anthropologic activities influenced the groundwater system of the area. It suggested that the groundwater quality should go under a continuous monitoring process for sustainable water quality management in the area. The study findings could help with further planning of potential future remediation measures for policymakers.

Identification of Sources and Mobilization of Trace Elements in Shallow Groundwater of the Upper Ganges River Basin

“…The availability of metals at the sediment level is closely tied to the quantity of sedimentladen trace metal dissolved in neighboring pore water. In oxic sediments, many metals may be adsorbed on the surface of clay particles; and Fe, Mn, and Ni oxides are coated on clay or organic particles [27]. As the level of O2 in sediment reduces, typically due to bacterial degradation, the metaloxide coatings begin to dissolve, liberating adsorbed metals.…”

Seasonal Variation of Fe, Mn, and Pb in Groundwater of Northwestern Bangladesh

“…Numerous metals that are found in groundwater have vital functions in the body, but only if their levels stay below a certain range as advised by the World Health Organization [9]. Water normally contains trace levels of metals, which are usually acceptable for human health [10], but elevated levels of contamination are injurious to health and the environment. Various researchers have also shown that trace metals such as Cr, Fe, Mn, Cd and Pb are major toxicants in contaminated water [11,12,13,14,15,16].…”

Characterization and Removal Efficiency of Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP)

“…The quality of soil, surface water, and groundwater has systematically deteriorated by the release of untreated or not properly treated industrial effluents into the ecosystem (Islam and Mostafa 2020). The environment is threatened by the entry of numerous contaminants such as heavy metals and other organic and inorganic hazardous components in soil, surface water, and groundwater aquifers (Shakil and Mostafa 2020;Islam and Mostafa 2021). Untreated wastewater must be treated before discharging into the environment.…”