Appraisal of non-carcinogenic health risks posed by fluoride and iron in groundwater of a rural semi-arid part of India

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study was initiated to evaluate groundwater quality in the post-monsoon season (2021) vis a vis chemistry and hydrochemical facies, assessment of probabilistic health risks posed by F− and Fe and quality appraisal of regional groundwater for irrigation in Kumarganj community development block. As per potable water quality standards of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), 50% and 13.3% of water samples were found to be unsafe due to F− and Fe, respectively. Fluoride concentration ranged from 0.1 to 3.62 mg l−1 (mean, 1.22 mg l−1). The northern, north-western and south-eastern parts of the block were found to have F− concentrations above the permissible safe limit of 1.0 mg F l−1 while a small area within southern region had >1 mg l−1 Fe. Factor analysis showed that four factors contributed to 38.21%, 19.67%, 10.62%, and 8.45%, respectively, to water quality. According to the human health risk assessment by Total Hazard Index, all age groups in the study area were at risk of exposure, in the order of THIchildren > THIinfant > THIadult due to consumption of excessive F− and Fe. This assessment was consistent with the results of probabilistic health risk assessment undertaken by Monte Carlo simulation (5000 trials) wherein maximum risk of 4.14 and 0.17 at 95th percentile to children was attributable to F− and Fe, respectively.