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.

Keywords:

• Heavy metals
• non-carcinogenic risk
• carcinogenic risk
• groundwater
• multivariate analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Researchers Supporting Project, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for funding this work. The authors are thankful to Prof. Peiyue Li for his useful review of this work.

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Consent to participate and publish

All authors participated in this research agreed to publish.

Data availability

This article has no associated data, and all the data used in this study present in the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work is funded by the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2022R455), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.