Unraveling prevalence and public health risks of arsenic, uranium and co-occurring trace metals in groundwater along riverine ecosystem in Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan

Ali, Waqar; Aslam, Muhammad; Feng, Chude; Junaid, Muhammad; Ali, Kamran; Li, Shehong; Chen, Zhe; Yu, Ziheng; Rasool, Atta; Zhang, Hua

doi:10.1007/s10653-019-00278-7

Cited by 41 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Groundwaters within the major floodplains and deltas in South/Southeast (S/SE) Asia, as well as elsewhere across the world, can naturally contain dangerous concentrations of As [1][2][3][4][5] exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value of 0.13 µM (10 µg.L −1 ) [4]. In S/SE Asia, As impacts the health of millions of people and has been well documented in areas of Bangladesh [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], Cambodia [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29], Vietnam [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41], Pakistan [42][43][44][45] and more recently, Myanmar [46]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Geochemical Controls of Arsenic and Uranium in Groundwater-Derived Drinking Water in Bihar, India

Richards

Kumar

Shankar

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Chronic exposure to groundwater containing elevated concentrations of geogenic contaminants such as arsenic (As) and uranium (U) can lead to detrimental health impacts. In this study, we have undertaken a groundwater survey of representative sites across all districts of the State of Bihar, in the Middle Gangetic Plain of north-eastern India. The aim is to characterize the inorganic major and trace element aqueous geochemistry in groundwater sources widely used for drinking in Bihar, with a particular focus on the spatial distribution and associated geochemical controls on groundwater As and U. Concentrations of As and U are highly heterogeneous across Bihar, exceeding (provisional) guideline values in~16% and 7% of samples (n = 273), respectively. The strongly inverse correlation between As and U is consistent with the contrasting redox controls on As and U mobility. High As is associated with Fe, Mn, lower Eh and is depth-dependent; in contrast, high U is associated with HCO 3 − , NO 3 − and higher Eh. The improved understanding of the distribution and geochemical controls on As and U in Bihar has important implications on remediation priorities and selection, and may contribute to informing further monitoring and/or representative characterization efforts in Bihar and elsewhere in India.Vaishali, noting importantly that only sources within 10 km of the Ganga River were sampled) [77]. Most recently, it has been reported that 22 districts of Bihar are currently As-impacted, although no further details such as location, non-summarized data or the functional definition of "As-impacted" are included [78]. Further, wheat consumption has recently been identified as an emerging route of As exposure in Bihar [84]. Although thorough reviews of the status of As in the Gangetic Basin are published elsewhere [78,85], the estimated population at risk for As contamination in West Bengal is 26 million people, followed by Bihar (9 million), Uttar Pradesh (3 million), Assam (1.2 million), Manipur (1 million) and Jharkhand (0.4 million) [85]. Widespread in nature, U is a radionuclide which geogenically occurs in granite and other rock types. U in groundwater can occur due to natural mobilization processes under oxic conditions, and can also be associated with anthropogenic activities such as mining, coal and fuel combustion, emissions from the nuclear industry and the use of PO 4 -based fertilizers containing U [4]. As chronic exposure to U may lead to numerous adverse health impacts including bone toxicity and impaired renal function [86,87], WHO has set a provisional guideline value of 0.13 µM (30 µg.L −1 ), noting that Germany adopted a lower threshold of 0.04 µM (10 µg.L −1 ) in 2011 [88]. Elevated concentrations of U in groundwater have been identified across the globe, including in North America (e.g., Canada [89], the United States [90,91]), Europe (e.g., Finland [87], Sweden [92], Switzerland [93], the United Kingdom [94]) and Asia (e.g., Bangladesh [95], China [96,97], Korea [98], Mongolia [99], Pakistan [43] and in the...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Geochemical Controls of Arsenic and Uranium in Groundwater-Derived Drinking Water in Bihar, India

Richards

Kumar

Shankar

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Hence, average CR values of As in the present study were significantly higher in drinking water samples of Ghotki and Nawab Shah than the maximum threshold CR value (i.e., 1 × 10 -4 ), recommended by USEPA (2011). However, previously the carcinogenic risk was mostly resulted from high As concentration in the groundwater (Ali et al, 2019a). The health risk results exhibit that groundwater can pose potential health risks in the local inhabitants of the Ghotki and Nawab Shah areas.…”

Section: Human Health Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 95%

Hydrogeochemical Characterization, and Suitability Assessment of Drinking Groundwater: Application of Geostatistical Approach and Geographic Information System

Ghani

Ullah

Nawab

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Arsenic (As) contamination in drinking groundwater sources is a common environmental problem in Pakistan. Therefore, we collected a total of (n = 81) drinking groundwater samples from various groundwater sources, from two districts’ namely Ghotki (n = 44) and Nawab Shah (n = 37) of Sindh, Province, Pakistan. The current research aimed to investigate the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater with elevated arsenic (As), its effect on the health of local population living in the study area, potential sources of groundwater variables, and the suitability of groundwater for ingestion motive. The results showed that groundwater sample variables of both districts had moderate to high concentration levels. The cations concentrations were observed in decreasing order of Na+ > Ca+ > Mg+ > K+, for both districts, while anions abundance was HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− > F− > NO3− in the Ghotki, and HCO3− > SO42− > Cl− > NO3− > F− in the Nawab Shah, respectively. Arsenic (As) had low to high concentration levels in both districts, observed with average values of 10.1 μg/L and 21.0 μg/L in the Ghotki and Nawab Shah, respectively. The water type was mixed CaMgCl type in both districts, while the groundwater sources were saturated for CO3 minerals indicated by the saturation indices results. Principal component analysis showed the geogenic source of ion exchange, dissolution of minerals, weathering of host rocks and anthropogenic input of industrial activities, agricultural practices and domestic waste for groundwater contamination. The water quality index (WQI) exhibits that majority of groundwater samples (73.6% of Ghotki and 65.7% of Nawab Shah) were suitable for drinking. The non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) values of As were (>1) in groundwater samples of the Ghotki and Nawab Shah, while a high mean HQ value (8.78 × 100) was recorded for children in Nawab Shah. The carcinogenic risk (CR) values of As were significantly higher than the maximum threshold CR value (1 × 10–4). This study emphasized that monitoring strategies are substantially needed to mitigate the As contamination to reduce the potential health risk.

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“…Uranium that is absorbed by the body is found in its highest concentrations in the bones, liver, and kidneys, with an estimated 66% of the absorbed uranium in the body being found in the bones (Keith et al 2013). The majority of current research suggests that chemical toxicity from the intake of small quantities of uranium through contaminated drinking water may cause damage to the cardiovascular system and kidneys (Hon et al 2015;Ali et al 2019). Chronic exposure to even small amounts of uranium may be associated with some cancers and, at high exposure levels, kidney disease (Bjørklund et al 2020).…”

Section: Health Effects Of Uraniummentioning

confidence: 99%

Uranium Exposure in American Indian Communities: Health, Policy, and the Way Forward

Redvers

Chischilly²,

Warne

et al. 2021

Environ Health Perspect

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Background: Uranium contamination of drinking-water sources on American Indian (AI) reservations in the United States is a largely ignored and underfunded public health crisis. With an estimated 40% of the headwaters in the western U.S. watershed, home to many AI reservation communities, being contaminated with untreated mine waste, the potential health effects have largely been unexplored. With AI populations already facing continued and progressive economic and social marginalization, higher prevalence of chronic disease, and systemic discrimination, associations between various toxicant exposures, including uranium, and various chronic conditions, need further examination. Objectives: Uranium’s health effects, in addition to considerations for uranium drinking-water testing, reporting, and mitigation in reference to AI communities through the lens of water quality, is reviewed. Discussion: A series of environmental health policy recommendations are described with the intent to proactively improve responsiveness to the water quality crisis in AI reservation communities in the United States specific to uranium. There is a serious and immediate need for better coordination of uranium-related drinking-water testing and reporting on reservations in the United States that will better support and guide best practices for uranium mitigation efforts. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7537

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Unraveling prevalence and public health risks of arsenic, uranium and co-occurring trace metals in groundwater along riverine ecosystem in Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan

Cited by 41 publications

References 78 publications

Distribution and Geochemical Controls of Arsenic and Uranium in Groundwater-Derived Drinking Water in Bihar, India

Distribution and Geochemical Controls of Arsenic and Uranium in Groundwater-Derived Drinking Water in Bihar, India

Hydrogeochemical Characterization, and Suitability Assessment of Drinking Groundwater: Application of Geostatistical Approach and Geographic Information System

Uranium Exposure in American Indian Communities: Health, Policy, and the Way Forward

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