Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk assessment of heavy metals contamination in groundwater in the west of Minia area, Egypt

Abstract

Groundwater contamination by heavy metals is a worldwide serious issue due to its severe risks to human health. In the present study, a total of 49 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for eleven trace elements (Al, Cr, Cd, As, Zn, Se, Sn, Ni, Pb, Mn, and Cu) in the west of Minia area, Egypt, to determine groundwater contamination by heavy metals and their impact on groundwater use for drinking and human health as a result. Multivariate statistics, geospatial mapping, and health risk assessment approaches are used to evaluate the potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic hazards in the research area and determine both natural and anthropogenic consequences of identified trace elements on local groundwater quality. The heavy metal concentrations (in µg/l) in the groundwater samples were found to be in the following order: Zn (154.5) > Al (40) > As (37.4) > Sn (32) > Cr (28.4) > Hg (25.6) > Cu (21.8) > Cd (16) > Ni (15.4) > Pb (6.5). Heavy metals measurements revealed that As, Hg, and Cu do not meet WHO Guidelines Values, indicating a risk to human health from the consumption of groundwater. Zn > Al > As > Sn > Cr > Hg > Cu > Se > Cd > Ni > Pb was shown to be the order of the mean values of chronic daily heavy metal consumption for new-borns, children, and adults. Continuous oral intake of groundwater loaded with heavy metals could result in carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic concerns, posing serious health dangers to people throughout the life course.

Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment of Metal Elements in Groundwater in the Ibinur Lake Basin of NW China

“…Principal component analysis (PCA) is a method for taking high-dimensional data by compressing the wide range of analyzed data into correlated variables based on the dependencies between the variables [20]. In the present study, the PCA was used to further identify the possible origins of metals in groundwater in this study.…”

“…Seyed et al [19] observed that Pb is the most prominent potential risk element in drinking groundwater in Gayan County of Iran. Ahmed et al [20] found a probable health risk of As in groundwater in northwestern Egypt. In terms of pollution sources of metals in groundwater, Triassi et al [21] clarified that the main origins of metals in groundwater in southern Italy include natural sources, human factors, and geochemical activities.…”

Examining carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health risks related to arsenic exposure in Ethiopia: A longitudinal study

“…In this study, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks from ingestion and dermal contact with groundwater during the dry and wet seasons were evaluated using a protocol established by USEPA [46] . The carcinogenic risk was determined using the reference dose and cancer slope factor [49] , [50] , [51] , while the noncarcinogenic risk was assessed using the chronic daily intake and reference dose [47] . Furthermore, the total non-carcinogenic risk was computed as the sum of HQ der and HQ ing .…”

“…In contrast, an ILCR of more than 1 × 10 −4 is considered harmful, and the risk of cancer is problematic [52] . Cancer risk was calculated using (3) , (5) , (6) [49] , [50] , [51] . CR=CDI x CSF …”

Health Risk Assessment of Some Heavy Metals in Groundwater Samples in Rada'a City, Yemen

“…The probability of cancer risk (PCR) for groundwater resources was estimated as an individual's incremental lifetime risk of developing cancer from exposure to a potential carcinogen. The PCR for each carcinogenic metal is calculated as follows [27,28]:…”