Survey and zoning of nitrate-contaminated groundwater in Iran

Abstract

Groundwater quality management is important in arid and semi-arid regions, as in Iran. Nitrate (NO 3 -) is a common anion that contaminates groundwater. The present study determined the nitrate concentrations of aquifers in Iran. Data derived from studies in which the nitrate concentration had minimal spatial error at different periods were used for analysis. This included a total number of 2353 nitrate samples taken from wells located in all area of Iran. These were extracted from 82 articles and covered all of provinces. Furthermore, in every region, the average and maximum nitrate concentration were identified and kriging interpolation technique was used to obtain the spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters by Arc view GIS 10.2 software. The results showed that the nitrate levels in samples from some regions were above the maximum standard level. Nitrate contamination in some regions had increased over the last 10 years. Genetic algorithms were applied to determine the relationship between average nitrate concentration and population density, consumption of drinking water and agricultural water use. The results show that water use in agricultural areas and the subsequent consumption of fertilizer are the main source of groundwater contamination with nitrate in Iran.

Socio-Environmental Determinants and Human Health Exposures in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Iran—Narrative Review

“…Both the above-mentioned provinces are the largest and most populated provinces located in the desert region. 84 …”

Use of machine learning and geographical information system to predict nitrate concentration in an unconfined aquifer in Iran

“…Farmers also traditionally use excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizers and toxins. As a result, increasing nitrate concentrations in groundwater sources have been observed in recent decades in the world (Alighardashi and Mehrani, 2017;Band et al, 2020). On the other hand, consuming drinking water with high nitrate concentration can lead to serious problems for human health, especially for children such as childhood water syndrome and lack of oxygen in the body., high concentrations of nitrate in drinking water will increase the risk of cancer for humans (Parvizishad et al, 2017;Taneja et al, 2017).…”

A novel process of anodic water denitrification in an upflow tubular microbial fuel cell: effect of C/N ratio

“…The nitrate concentration of drinking water supplies in some provinces have been reported to exceed >100 mg L -1 as NO 3 and the estimated cancer risks for the provinces of Tehran, Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Fars, Qom, and Ardabil are recognized to be in the 'no negligible range' as set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada. 4,5 Nitrate can be further reduced to nitrite and nitrosamine in the gastrointestinal system and lead to gastric cancer. The possibility of extra cases of cancer as a result of endogenous nitrosation through drinking water containing nitrate goes up as the number of people exposed increases (the estimated cancer risks of 10 −5 is usually presented by most regulatory authorities).…”

“…High nitrate concentrations in groundwater have been reported in the northeast (Khorasan province), northwest (Hamedan and east Azerbaijan provinces), southwest (Fars province), and north (Mazandaran province) using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. The nitrate concentration of drinking water supplies in some provinces have been reported to exceed >100 mg L –1 as NO 3 ¯ and the estimated cancer risks for the provinces of Tehran, Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Fars, Qom, and Ardabil are recognized to be in the ‘no negligible range’ as set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada 4,5 …”