Impact of heavy metals on aquatic life and human health: a case study of River Ravi Pakistan

Abstract

Heavy-metal contamination in river and ocean is a critical environmental issue that endangers marine ecosystems and human health. Therefore, conducting extensive research to devise effective mitigation measures is imperative. Sediment samples were taken randomly throughout the study area. Analysis was done to determine the presence of different metals, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, lead, and manganese. The assessment of different pollution levels was done by using various pollution indicators including “geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF)” for accuracy. The Igeo measurement for Cd indicated varying pollution, ranging from moderate to significantly polluted, while Mn revealed no contamination. Elements such as Ni, Cr, Cu, and Zn showed a moderate level of contamination. The contamination factor values exhibited a range of 0.436 (Pb) to 7.637 (Cd), with average values spanning from 0.9176 (Mn) to 4.9714 (Cd), suggesting significant regional variation. EF exhibits a pattern of contamination comparable to that of Igeo. The noncarcinogenic risk associated with exposure to Cd and As exceeded the higher limit (HI > 1) for children and adults. Furthermore, the carcinogenic risk presented by pollutants such as copper (Cu), arsenic (As), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) was found to exceed the limits in children. In adults, only arsenic (As) and copper (Cu) were shown to represent a higher risk of cancer than the limit of 10−4. The PCA analysis revealed that two (PCs) accounted for more than 65% of the total variance in the River Ravi, as determined by eigenvalues greater than 1. This study underscores the importance of the ongoing monitoring and management of heavy-metal pollution to ensure sustainable marine ecosystem development and public health protection.