Assessment of pollution indices and human health risk related to 13 heavy metal contents in surface water of Sihke Pond (Van), Turkey

Abstract

Heavy metals may cause serious problems for human health in contaminated water resources. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the metal contamination levels in Sihke Pond surface water and assess the possible human health risk for children and adults through ingestion of the surface water. The concentrations of thirteen heavy metals (aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead, selenium, and zinc) were determined monthly using the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer between September 2019 and August 2020. Heavy metal pollution index and metal index were used to determine the metal pollution level. Non-carcinogenic risks including hazard quotient and hazard index were calculated and the carcinogenic risk values were estimated for both age groups. The mean value of heavy metals was decreased in the order of manganese > molybdenum > iron > chromium > zinc > arsenic > cobalt > copper > nickel > lead > aluminum > cadmium > selenium. The mean heavy metal pollution index value was determined as 110.8 and classified as totally not suitable. The mean metal index value was also included in the slightly affected class. The hazard quotient for arsenic, cobalt, and molybdenum, and hazard index values had values >1 for both groups. The carcinogenic risk caused by arsenic, chromium, and lead were all above the tolerable limit of 1.0 × 10−4. Thus, the non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk results for children and adults exceed the threshold values. Consequently, the Sihke Pond surface water is contaminated with heavy metals and is not suitable for direct consumption.