Department of Chemistry, Centre for Advanced Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143001, India.
Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, Punjab, 141004, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Mar 4;193(4):159. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-08892-8.
Mansa district in Malwa region of South-West Punjab has gained significant attention due to elevation in number of patients suffering from diverse diseases especially cancer and consumption of contaminated groundwater could be one of the possible reasons. The present study reports the assessment of 59 groundwater samples from Mansa district by evaluating physicochemical characteristics, potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination and associated health implications followed by analysis of water quality status using various indices. Multivariate statistics were applied for source identification of PTEs in groundwater. The study revealed occurrence of PTEs with mean (μg L) dominance order of As (650.8) > U (104.14) > Zn (55.3) > Fe (34.4) > Hg (8.3) > Mn (5.1) > Cu (4.1) > Cr (2.7) > Pb (2.4). One hundred and 71.19% groundwater samples were found to be seriously contaminated with As and U, respectively, and posing high cancer risks to local residents via ingestion. Higher hazard indices of 16.64 and 12.85 for children and adults, respectively, indicated high non-carcinogenic health risks to both population groups but children were observed to be more vulnerable. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations of U with total dissolved solids (TDS), fluoride (F) and total alkalinity (TA). Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) revealed the contribution of both geogenic (weathering of rocks) and anthropogenic sources (overuse of agrochemicals in agricultural lands and release of inefficiently treated industrial effluents) for deteriorating the groundwater quality of study area. The study counsels the inhabitants to consume treated groundwater as ingestion route was identified as the primary route of exposure.
西南旁遮普省马尔瓦地区的曼萨区由于患有各种疾病（尤其是癌症）的患者人数增加而受到高度关注，而饮用受污染的地下水可能是其中一个原因。本研究报告了对曼萨区 59 个地下水样本的评估，评估内容包括物理化学特性、潜在有毒元素（PTE）污染以及由此产生的健康影响，然后使用各种指数分析水质状况。多元统计分析用于确定地下水中 PTE 的来源。研究结果表明，存在 PTE，其均值（μg/L）优势顺序为 As（650.8）>U（104.14）>Zn（55.3）>Fe（34.4）>Hg（8.3）>Mn（5.1）>Cu（4.1）>Cr（2.7）>Pb（2.4）。有 100.71%的地下水样本被发现严重受到 As 和 U 的污染，分别对当地居民通过摄入途径构成了高癌症风险。儿童和成人的更高危害指数 16.64 和 12.85 表明，这两个群体都存在高度的非致癌健康风险，但儿童更容易受到影响。相关性分析显示 U 与总溶解固体（TDS）、氟化物（F）和总碱度（TA）呈正相关。主成分分析（PCA）和聚类分析（CA）显示，地下水质量恶化的原因既有地质成因（岩石风化），也有人为成因（农业用地过度使用农用化学品和低效处理工业废水的排放）。该研究建议居民饮用处理后的地下水，因为摄入途径被确定为主要暴露途径。
