Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Arak University, Arak, Iran.
Centre for Applied Water Science, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2024 May 14;14(1):11017. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61914-6.
Mining activities have increased the potential risks of metal pollution to the groundwater resources in arid areas across the globe. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the health risk associated with nickel (Ni) in the groundwater sources of a mining-impacted area, South Khorasan, Eastern Iran. A total of 110 stations were included in the study, comprising 62 wells, 40 qanats, and 8 springs in summer, 2020. Initially, the collected samples were tested for temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC). Subsequently, the samples were filtered and treated with nitric acid (HNO) to measure the concentration of Ni using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Hazard quotient (HQ) and non-carcinogenic risk assessments were employed to evaluate the potential risks of Ni to the inhabitants. The findings revealed that the concentration of Ni ranged from 0.02 to 132.39 μg l, and only two stations exhibited Ni concentrations above the WHO standards (20 μg l). The results demonstrated that 98.21% of the sampled locations had HQ values below one, indicating negligible risk, while 1.78% of the stations exhibited HQ values of one or higher, representing a high non-carcinogenic risk for water consumers. Overall, the concentration of nickel in the groundwater of South Khorasan exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) limit solely in the Halvan station, posing a non-carcinogenic risk for the residents in that area, and therefore, additional efforts should be made to provide healthier groundwater to consumers in this region.
采矿活动增加了全球干旱地区地下水资源金属污染的潜在风险。因此，本研究旨在研究伊朗东部南呼罗珊受采矿影响地区地下水源中镍（Ni）的健康风险。共有 110 个站点被纳入研究，其中包括 2020 年夏季的 62 口井、40 口坎儿井和 8 个泉水。首先，对采集的样本进行温度、pH 值和电导率（EC）测试。随后，将样品过滤并用硝酸（HNO）处理，以电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）测量 Ni 的浓度。危害系数（HQ）和非致癌风险评估用于评估 Ni 对居民的潜在风险。结果表明，Ni 的浓度范围为 0.02 至 132.39 μg l，仅有两个站点的 Ni 浓度超过世界卫生组织（WHO）标准（20 μg l）。结果表明，98.21%的采样点 HQ 值低于 1，表明风险可忽略不计，而 1.78%的站点 HQ 值为 1 或更高，表明水消费者面临高非致癌风险。总体而言，南呼罗珊地下水中镍的浓度仅在哈尔凡站超过世界卫生组织（WHO）的限值，对该地区居民构成非致癌风险，因此应做出更多努力，为该地区的消费者提供更健康的地下水。
