Department of Geology, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State, Uli, Nigeria.
Department of Geology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Environ Monit Assess. 2022 Feb 7;194(3):150. doi: 10.1007/s10661-022-09789-w.
With excess potentially harmful elements (PHEs), drinking water is marked unsuitable and could pose some health risks when ingested or absorbed by humans. Different age groups are exposed to varied risk levels of PHEs. Analyzing the health risks of PHEs for several age groups could provide detailed insights for effective water resources management. No known study in Ameka Pb-Zn mine province (Nigeria) investigated the health risks of PHEs in water resources for several age groups. Therefore, in this paper, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks (due to ingestion and dermal contact) of PHEs in groundwater resources of this area were investigated for nine age groups. To achieve its aim, this study integrated novel HERisk code, NSFWQI (national sanitation foundation water quality index), and hierarchical clusters (HCs) in modeling the groundwater quality. Standard elemental composition analysis revealed that the groundwater is polluted with PHEs. The NSFWQI indicated that 15% of the analyzed water samples have moderate water quality whereas 85% are unsuitable for drinking. The HERisk code, which considered nine age groups (1 to < 2 years, 2 to < 3 years, 3 to < 6 years, 6 to < 11 years, 11 to < 16 years, 16 to < 18 years, 18 to < 21 years, 21 to < 65 years, and > 65 years), revealed that all the samples pose high chronic and cancer risks to all the age groups due to oral ingestion. However, it was realized that age groups 1 to < 16 and > 65 are posed with higher risks than age groups 18 to < 65. Overall, it was realized that all the age groups are far more exposed to ingest or absorb Se, Co, Cd, Se, As, Ni, and Pb than Cu, Fe, and Zn. Nevertheless, the health risks due to dermal absorption are far lower than the risks due to oral ingestion. Conclusively, children and aging people are more predisposed to the health threats than middle-aged populations. HCs and geospatial maps aided the spatiotemporal analysis of the groundwater quality.
饮用水中含有过量的潜在有害元素 (PHEs)，被认为是不适宜的，如果被人类摄入或吸收，可能会对健康造成一定风险。不同年龄组接触 PHEs 的风险水平不同。分析不同年龄组的 PHEs 健康风险，可以为有效的水资源管理提供详细的见解。在尼日利亚的阿梅卡铅锌矿区，目前还没有已知的研究调查了该地区多个年龄组的水资源中 PHEs 的健康风险。因此，在本文中，针对该地区地下水资源，针对 9 个年龄组，研究了 PHEs 的致癌和非致癌健康风险（通过摄入和皮肤接触）。为了实现这一目标，本研究将新型 HERisk 代码、NSFWQI（国家卫生基金会水质指数）和层次聚类 (HCs) 整合到地下水质量建模中。标准元素组成分析表明，地下水受到 PHEs 的污染。NSFWQI 表明，15%的分析水样具有中等水质，而 85%的水样不适宜饮用。HERisk 代码考虑了 9 个年龄组（1 岁以下、1 岁至 2 岁、2 岁至 3 岁、3 岁至 6 岁、6 岁至 11 岁、11 岁至 16 岁、16 岁至 18 岁、18 岁至 21 岁、21 岁至 65 岁和大于 65 岁），发现所有样本由于口服摄入，对所有年龄组都存在高慢性和癌症风险。然而，研究发现年龄组 1 岁至 16 岁和大于 65 岁的风险高于年龄组 18 岁至 65 岁。总体而言，研究发现所有年龄组摄入或吸收的 Se、Co、Cd、Se、As、Ni 和 Pb 都远远高于 Cu、Fe 和 Zn。然而，皮肤吸收的健康风险远低于口服摄入的风险。总之，儿童和老年人比中年人群更容易受到健康威胁。HCs 和地理空间地图辅助了地下水质量的时空分析。
