Science of The Total Environment
Volume 938, 15 August 2024, 173328
Geospatial analysis of toxic metal
contamination in groundwater and
associated health risks in the lower
Himalayan industrial region
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Utsav Rajput a, Deepak Swami a, Nitin Joshi b
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Highlights
● •
Heavy metals and geogenic Uranium traces found in lower
Himalayan groundwater.
● •
PCA and CV indicated natural and anthropogenic origin of toxic
heavy metals.
● •
Human health risk assessment resulted high non-carcinogenic
and carcinogenic risks.
● •
Geogenic Uranium is identified as major source for non-
carcinogenic health risks.
● •
Nickel and Chromium are identified as major sources for
carcinogenic health risks.
Abstract
Once known for its clean and natural environment, the lower
Himalayan region is now no exception to human-induced
disturbances. Rapid industrial growth in Baddi-Barotiwala (BB)
industrial region has led to degradation of groundwater resources in
the area. Groundwater samples were collected from 37 locations to
study the groundwater chemistry, geospatial variation of 15 toxic
metals in groundwater, source apportionment, metals of concern and
associated health risks in the region. The results showed rock
dominated hydrogeology with decreasing order of anion and cation
abundance as HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− > NO3− > Br− > F− and Ca+ > Na+ >
Mg2+ > K+ > Li+ respectively. Concentrations of Iron (BDL-3.6 mg/l),
Nickel (BDL-0.023 mg/l), Barium (0.22–0.89 mg/l), Lead (0.0001–
0.085 mg/l) and Zinc (0.006–21.4 mg/l) were found above the
permissible limits at few locations. Principal component analysis
(PCA) and coefficient of variance (CV) showed both geogenic and
anthropogenic origin of metals in groundwater of the BB industrial
region. A consistent concentration of Uranium was detected at all the
sampling locations with an average value of 0.0039 mg/l and poor
spatial variation indicating its natural presence. Overall, non-
carcinogenic (N-CR) risk in the study area via oral pathway was high
for adults and children (Hazard Index > 1) with geogenic Uranium as
the major contributor (Hazard Quotient > 1) followed by Zinc, Lead
and Cobalt. Carcinogenic (CR) risk in the region was high for adults
having mean value above the threshold (1E-04) with Nickel and
Chromium as the metals of major concern. Spatial variation of health
risks was overlayed on village boundaries of the region to identify the
potential industrial sources of the metals of major concern. The results
highlight the need for immediate remediation of groundwater
resources in order to achieve a harmonious coexistence between
industrialization and human well-being.
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Introduction
Groundwater plays an undeniably important part in our day-to-day
living. As a major source of freshwater, it is widely used for drinking in
various parts of the world (Adams et al., 2011; Carrard et al., 2019;
Lerner and Harris, 2009). Besides providing potable drinking water, it
is also extensively used for irrigation and industrial purposes
(Giordano, 2009; Michael, 2012). However, this valuable resource has
degraded quantitatively as well as qualitatively over the past decades
due to natural and anthropogenic stresses (Amjad et al., 2020;
Kamaldeep et al., 2011; Paikaray and Chander, 2022). Groundwater
quality depends upon various parameters like TDS, pH,
concentrations of various ions, metals and other organic compounds.
These parameters either vary naturally due to precipitation
(Manikandan et al., 2019), subsurface geology, rocks and minerals in
the aquifer (Prasad et al., 2022; Romana et al., 2023) or occur due to
an anthropogenic source like industrial or domestic wastewater
discharge, leakage from landfills and intensive use of fertilizers and
pesticides (Aswal et al., 2023; Kashyap et al., 2018; Raja et al., 2021).
Groundwater quality significantly affects human health.
Concentrations of groundwater quality parameters above the
permissible limits might pose a serious health risk to humans in the
area. Waterborne diseases account for >80 % of health issues in
developing countries (UNESCO, 2007) with >1.5 million deaths yearly
due to poor drinking water quality and unhygienic conditions (Hunter
et al., 2001).
Consumption of groundwater with elevated concentrations of metals
may cause serious health issues like renal failure, infertility, kidney
disorders, cardiovascular diseases (Shokr et al., 2017; Zhang et al.,
2019) or even cancer due to metal accumulation in body organs
(Alidadi et al., 2019; Briffa et al., 2020; Sanou et al., 2022). Thus, risk
assessment for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks associated
with poor quality groundwater is essential for monitoring and
evaluating its impact on human health. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) explains human health
risk assessment as the procedure to evaluate the nature and likelihood
of health impacts in humans exposed to contaminated environments
at present or in the future (Kamaldeep et al., 2011). The process
involves determining the potential of a source to develop risk agents
that interact with the environment and evaluate the health
consequences of its exposure (Ma et al., 2007). USEPA risk
assessment generally follows four sequential steps namely, hazard
identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment and
risk characterization. The global scientific community has shown
considerable interest in health risk assessment in recent years, with
numerous studies and reports focusing on the impact of drinking
contaminated water on human health. The USEPA risk assessment
model has been widely applied in India as well as globally to evaluate
the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks associated with exposure
to contaminated water via oral and dermal pathways (Alidadi et al.,
2019; Giri and Singh, 2015; Kamaldeep et al., 2011; Kashyap et al.,
2018; Li et al., 2023; Romana et al., 2023). Out of the two routes of
exposure, the oral or ingestion pathway is proven to be the primary
mode of exposure to contaminated water (Kamaldeep et al., 2011;
Kashyap et al., 2018).
In India, groundwater is extensively used for agricultural and
domestic purposes due to the regular belief of people that it is free
from toxins contrary to the surface water. Also, with unplanned
urbanization, rapid industrialization and population boost in the
country, groundwater utilization has increased exponentially (Kumar
et al., 2020b). However, the decline in the groundwater quality of the
Indian subcontinent is well documented in past studies (Bhardwaj et
al., 2020; Dubey et al., 2012, Dubey et al., 2022; Giri and Singh, 2015;
Rahman et al., 2021; Romana et al., 2023; Shukla et al., 2010). In
northern India, poor surface and groundwater quality in Punjab was
repeatedly outlined in the past studies (Aulakh et al., 2009; Karanveer
et al., 2022; Virk et al., 2010). The critical situation required urgent
remediation but was inefficiently addressed. Consequently, severe
human health risks associated with deteriorating water resources were
reported in the region by many studies over the following years
(Kumar et al., 2020b; Romana et al., 2023; Singh et al., 2019). The
situation became worse as there was an alarming rise in the number of
cancer patients (Godara, 2016; Goswami, 2017; Kumar, 2023) which
even led to introduction of the infamous passenger train in the region
known as the Cancer Express (Srivastava et al., 2015; Das, 2016). In a
similar situation like Punjab, groundwater in the lower Himalayan
region has been severely affected due to rapid industrialization in the
region (Kamaldeep et al., 2011; Kashyap et al., 2018). Considering the
declining groundwater quality and its impact on human health, the
study was carried out in one of the predominant industrial regions in
the lower Himalayas, the Baddi-Barotiwala (BB) industrial area.
Earlier, there have been a few case studies to address the deteriorating
groundwater resources in BB region. Kamaldeep et al. (2011) reported
high concentrations of toxic heavy metals in the groundwater of the
region with many areas exceeding the permissible limits. The study
concluded that groundwater contamination due to industrialization
was occurring at an alarming rate. Singla et al. (2018) studied the
impacts of industrial development in the region on the environment,
including water, air and soil. Rana et al. (2022) analyzed the seasonal
variation of groundwater quality parameters in the area and concluded
that the groundwater was unfit for drinking due to domestic sewage
and chemical/industrial effluents. Since groundwater is the only
source of freshwater in the region (Singla et al., 2018), it is utilized as a
primary source for domestic as well as industrial demands (Kaw,
2018). A major population in the study area comprises of labourers
and workers employed in industries and other sectors (Census India,
2011). Hence, majority of the people do not have access to advanced
drinking water treatment facilities and rely on untreated groundwater
for consumption. This has led to numerous health problems among
the residents. From the year 2013 to 2018, around 1983 cases of
cancer were reported in the Baddi industrial region (Sharma, 2020).
Within the same time interval, 15,310 patients suffering from renal
disease and 190 cancer patients were reported at a health unit in Baddi
under the category of water borne diseases (Kaw, 2018). Hence, the
study becomes crucial to avoid a catastrophic situation like Punjab in
the pristine lower Himalayan region.
Previous studies conducted in the region have primarily focused on
measuring the concentrations of groundwater quality parameters like
TDS, pH, ions and metals etc. Despite being a nationwide supplier of
pharmaceuticals and other industrial products, BB industrial region is
still uncharted for the human health risks associated with its
deteriorating groundwater scenario. Additionally, other risk
assessment studies in the past have either focused on the mean value
of health risks in a particular area (Giri and Singh, 2015; Ullah et al.,
2022) or tabulated the risks at various sampling locations without
considering the spatial variation of the same (Alidadi et al., 2019;
Johar et al., 2020; Sharma et al., 2017; Taloor et al., 2023). Using a
single mean value of health risk for the entire area yields inaccurate
results while tabulating the same fails to justify the spatial extent of
the risk with discreet values. In the present study, spatial variation of
health risks in the region was analyzed by overlaying the risks on a
map featuring the administrative boundary of the villages in BB
industrial area. This approach allowed for the identification of metals
of concern and potential industrial sources in the study area. Also, the
health risk map would be useful for local residents to locate the areas
with higher risks in their respective villages.
In view of this research gap, the present study aims to achieve the
following objectives:
● (i)
To investigate the chemical hydrology of groundwater and
identify the dominant sources of ions in the region.
● (ii)
To measure and analyze the geospatial variation of toxic metal
concentrations in groundwater and determine their potential
sources in the study area.
● (iii)
To evaluate the non-carcinogenic (N-CR) and carcinogenic (CR)
risks associated with the oral intake of contaminated
groundwater using the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) human health risk assessment (HHRA) model
for both adults and children and identify the metals of concern
which can be targeted to reduce the human health risks in the
study area.
● (iv)
To prepare geospatial maps depicting the spatial variation of
metal contamination and health risks overlayed on village
administrative boundaries for identification of specific
anthropogenic contributors and knowledge dissemination for
future policy frameworks and remediation.
Section snippets
Study area
The study was conducted in the Baddi-Barotiwala (BB) industrial area
in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. BB industrial area, regarded
as Asia's biggest pharmaceutical hub (Sharma, 2021) is home to 89 %
of the industries of Himachal Pradesh. It is located in the Lower
Himalayan region at the foothills of Shiwalik range with an average
elevation of 426 m and is one of the most prominent industrial areas
of the state. The study area lies within longitudes of 76° 44′ 42″ to 76°
51′ 3.6″ and
Methodology
Water samples were collected to measure and analyze the ion,
dissolved toxic metal concentrations and other water quality
parameters to study the groundwater chemistry and its quality. The
collected samples were used to study the impact of deteriorating
groundwater quality on the health of local people in the study area.
Geospatial variations of health risks were then analyzed for metals of
major concern and their potential industrial source.
Results and discussion
The groundwater and surface water samples were tested for pH, EC,
TDS, temperature, anions (HCO3−, F−, Cl−, Br−, NO3−, SO42−, PO43−),
cations (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4+) and metals (As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu,
Fe, Pb, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, U, V and Zn) concentrations. Anion and
cation concentrations were used to study the groundwater chemistry
while metal concentrations were used to evaluate the non-
carcinogenic and carcinogenic human health risk assessment in the
study area. Further, the areas with
Conclusion
Rapid and unplanned industrialization in the lower Himalayan region
has led to unprecedented deterioration of its pristine groundwater
resources. This study conducted human health risk assessment of
Asia's largest pharmaceutical hub, BB industrial region in view of
locating and targeting the metals of concern and their potential
sources. The groundwater of the region was thoroughly tested for
anion, cation and heavy metal concentrations which showed high
spatial variation. The specific
Limitations and future scope of the study
As the study primarily focused on measurement and geospatial
analysis of heavy metals in groundwater and associated health risks,
source apportionment study was only limited to the metals and not the
ions. Also, as sampling was conducted during the post monsoon
season to study the best-case scenario of the health risks in the study
area, the concentrations of metals and associated health risks could be
higher during the drier months and pre monsoon season. Accuracy of
the results could be
Ethical statement
The author declared that no human/animal subjects were involved in
this study.
Funding
This research did not receive any special grant from funding agencies
in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Utsav Rajput: Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation,
Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation,
Conceptualization. Deepak Swami: Writing – review & editing,
Supervision, Software, Resources. Nitin Joshi: Writing – review &
editing, Supervision, Methodology.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
