Characterization of drinking groundwater quality in rural areas of Inner Mongolia and assessment of human health risks

Chen Zhao; Xingguang Zhang; Xin Fang; Nan Zhang; Xiaoqian Xu; Lehui Li; Yan Liu; Xiong Su; Yuan Xia

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113360

Characterization of drinking groundwater quality in rural areas of Inner Mongolia and assessment of human health risks

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Apr 1:234:113360. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113360. Epub 2022 Mar 3.

Authors

Chen Zhao¹, Xingguang Zhang¹, Xin Fang¹, Nan Zhang¹, Xiaoqian Xu¹, Lehui Li¹, Yan Liu¹, Xiong Su¹, Yuan Xia²

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
² School of Public Health, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Electronic address: xiayuan925@hotmail.com.

PMID: 35248927
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113360

Abstract

Groundwater is an important natural resource of drinking water in rural areas in Inner Mongolia, China. In this study, 4438 drinking groundwater samples were collected from the rural areas of 81 counties in Inner Mongolia, and were analyzed for 16 parameters, including pH, total hardness (TH), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), sulfate (SO₄^2-), chloride (Cl^-), fluoride (F^-), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), aluminum (Al), cuprum (Cu), zinc (Zn). The groundwater quality was evaluated with water quality index (WQI) and human health risk assessment (HRA). Monte Carlo simulation were applied for the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in the health risk assessment. The spatial map was employed based on the inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation technique. The results reveal that while the hazard quotient (HQ) suggests that the risk of single element contamination is feeble, the hazard index (HI) indicates a potential health risk for the local population. The observed cumulative carcinogenic risk (CCR) indicates a probable risks of carcinogenic health hazards in the study area. The sensitivity analysis revealed that daily ingestion rate (IR), exposure frequency (EF), and the concentrations of As, Mn, F^-, and Cr are the most influential parameters for health hazards. The highly polluted areas are mainly distributed in the central and western regions of Inner Mongolia, including Xianghuangqi, New Barag Zuoqi, and Togtoh. It is observed that the groundwater may cause a potential health risk after long-term ingestion. The results of this study will contribute to groundwater management and protection in Inner Mongolia.

Keywords: Drinking groundwater; Human health risk assessment; Inner Mongolia; Monte Carlo simulation; Water quality index.