Health risk assessment of a reservoir-type water source in the northeastern region of China

ABSTRACT

Urban water sources are the major source of water resources for urban life, and its water quality affects the daily life and health of the local people. However, there were some reports on the poor water quality status of water sources in the past. In the present study, by applying fuzzy synthetic evaluation, the water quality was studied from a total of 24 water samples from a reservoir-type water source in the northeastern region of China. Health risks of eight trace elements in source water were assessed using health risk assessment model and Monte Carlo simulation, and source apportionment of eight trace elements in source water were also analyzed. The results indicated that the water quality of the source water was acceptable for category I surface water, while the concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) and manganese (Mn) were higher than the permissible level. The noncarcinogenic risks due to eight trace elements exposure were As > Mn > Pb > Cd ≈ Cr > Se > Zn > Cu and carcinogenic risk of Arsenic (As) was 3E−05 with a maximum probability. Furthermore, statistical analyses, such as correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) showed that the trace metals in the water source have a certain degree of anthropogenic contributions, especially Mn. Overall, both the contents of TP and Mn and the health risk of As require some attention of the relevant department, and further protected measures should be taken in the source water.

KEYWORDS:

• source water
• water quality assessment
• health risk assessment
• pollution sources

Funding

This project was supported by the Key Scientific Research Programs of the Jilin Province (No. 20140204041SF) and the Department of Environmental Protection Project of the Jilin Province (No. 201501).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.