Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Arak University, Arak, Iran.
Centre for Applied Water Science, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 1;14(1):26293. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-77721-y.
The presence of mineral pollutants, combined with bacterial contamination, has significantly impacted groundwater quality and led to various health-related issues in mining-impacted areas. Therefore, we measured the concentration of fluoride (F), phosphate (PO), sulphate (SO), ammonium (NH), nitrate (NO), the total coliforms (TCs), and physiochemical characteristics in groundwater samples of South Khorasan, Eastern Iran. For this, we collected water samples from 100 wells in spring and autumn across this mining-impacted area. We then measured the concentrations of mineral pollutants and assessed their associated health risks to children and adults using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) models and spatiotemporal zoning maps in ArcGIS. The concentrations of PO, NH, SO, NO, and F were 0.70 ± 0.34, 0.82 ± 0.9, 175.45 ± 123, 15.26 ± 9.41, and 0.53 ± 0.68 mg/L in spring, and 0.71 ± 3.18, 4.68 ± 31, 306.72 ± 615.80, 19.30 ± 15.61, and 0.72 ± 0.65 mg/L in autumn, respectively. PO, NH, and SO exceeded both the World Health Organization (WHO) and EPA, but NO exceeded only EPA standards. TCs in both seasons exceeded the standards set by the EPA and WHO. The hazard quotient (HQ) values indicated non-carcinogenic risks for F⁻ and NO⁻, while posing no risks NH⁺ and PO⁻ in both adults and children during autumn and spring.Hazard index (HI) was greater than 1 for all minerals in both children and adults in autumn and spring. No correlation was observed between mineral compounds and TCs in the study area, yet the water samples were highly contaminated by coliform with a significant risk to adults and children. In essence, both mineral pollutants and TCs potentially pose serious risks to human, and more efforts are required to improve the quality of water in this area.
矿物污染物的存在与细菌污染相结合，极大地影响了地下水的质量，并在受采矿影响的地区导致了各种与健康相关的问题。因此，我们测量了伊朗东部南呼罗珊省地下水样本中氟化物（F）、磷酸盐（PO）、硫酸盐（SO）、铵（NH）、硝酸盐（NO）、总大肠菌群（TCs）的浓度以及理化特性。为此，我们在春季和秋季从该受采矿影响地区的 100 口井中采集水样。然后，我们使用环境保护署（EPA）模型和 ArcGIS 中的时空分区图来测量矿物污染物的浓度，并评估它们对儿童和成人的相关健康风险。PO、NH、SO、NO 和 F 的浓度在春季分别为 0.70±0.34、0.82±0.9、175.45±123、15.26±9.41 和 0.53±0.68mg/L，在秋季分别为 0.71±3.18、4.68±31、306.72±615.80、19.30±15.61 和 0.72±0.65mg/L。PO、NH 和 SO 均超过世界卫生组织（WHO）和 EPA 的标准，但仅 NO 超过 EPA 标准。两个季节的 TCs 均超过 EPA 和 WHO 设定的标准。危害系数（HQ）值表明 F⁻和 NO⁻在秋季和春季对成人和儿童均无致癌风险，而 NH⁺和 PO⁻则无风险。秋季和春季，所有矿物质的危害指数（HI）对儿童和成人均大于 1。在研究区域中，未观察到矿物质化合物与 TCs 之间存在相关性，但水样中大肠菌群高度污染，对成人和儿童构成重大风险。总之，矿物污染物和 TCs 都可能对人类构成严重威胁，需要进一步努力改善该地区的水质。
