Integrated Multivariate Analysis, Hydrogeochemical Modelling and Speciation Studies to Reveal Geogenic Origins behind Physical Disabilities: A Case Study in Pure Village, Varanasi, India

Abstract

The study aims to discuss elaborately about the origin of physical disabilities amongst the locals of Pure village in Varanasi district, India through proper hydrogeochemical facies, multivariate statistics and correlations, saturation indices of mineral phases, speciation of heavy metals, radiation surveys, and comparing the values of major ions and heavy metals with respect to the permissible limits of USEPA, WHO, ICRP, and BIS standards. The evolution of water is Ca-Mg-HCO3 type, as evident from Piper trilinear plot, with neutral to feeble alkalinity. From Gibbs’s diagram, origin of major ions in groundwater is found primarily to be chemical weathering of the rock forming minerals as all the samples fall in rock dominance zone. Mineral saturation indices modelling by PHREEQC suggest supersaturation of water with goethite, hematite, Fe(OH)3(a), and dolomite. Speciation studies of PG-4 having high U concentration (13 μg/l) reveal dominance of U4+ and Fe2+ species, thus confirming reducing environment in aquifer. The high concentration of iron minerals in water promotes adsorption of U4+ on their matrices thus reducing effective U concentration in water. The U values are higher in most of the drinking water samples as per safe limits indicated by ICRP and WHO suggesting that long-term use for drinking purpose may cause serious health crisis. Higher Sr values (119 ± 39 μg/l) in groundwaters, greater than minimum reporting level, as per USEPA, may be one of the contributing factors for physical disabilities of inhabitants.

Deciphering Hydrochemistry and Fluid-Mineral Equilibria from Characteristic Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Waters of Himalaya and Eastern India

“…Water -rock interaction itself depends on parameters like the lithology in the reaction zone, temperature, water to rock ratio and duration of contact. The role of lithology is obvious (Pophare 2018;Singh 2022). Chemistry of thermal springs occurring in a carbonate terrain will obviously be different from those occurring in a granitic or basaltic terrain.…”

Groundwater Characteristics and Their Associations with Paleogeomorphological Dynamics in Gantiwarno, Klaten Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia; A Preliminary

“…Without human influences, natural processes would influence water quality only [6]. Natural factors influence water quality through soil-matrix [5], [9], [11], geological setting and processes [5], [6], [8], [11]- [14], topography [6], type of rock, the local climate [6], [8], natural disasters, climate change [5], [11], hyporheic exchange [5], extent of host-rock and water interaction [12], degree of weathering of bedrock minerals [6], [12], [14], natural leaching of minerals, organic matter and nutrients from soil and aquifer rock [6], [12]; sorting processes [14], atmospheric processes involving evapotranspiration, deposition of dust and salt by wind, hydrological factors leading to runoff, and biological dynamics in the aquatic environment that may change the physical and chemical composition of water [6].…”