Abstract
Abstract Scarcity of safe drinking water in the coastal regions throughout the world has long been recognized due to hydrological vulnerability and natural disaster, which is severe in developing countries like Bangladesh. This study focuses on trace metal(loid)s contamination and their associated health risks for primary school children from the consumption of tubewell water at school time in the vulnerable southwest coastal region of Bangladesh. The average content of electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, chloride, total dissolved solids (TDSs), hardness, iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) were 1,983.6 ± 1,434.6 μS cm−1, 10.46 ± 10.3 NTU, 676.3 ± 648.1, 1,089.1 ± 788.6, 560.6 ± 326.6, 2.18 ± 1.99, and 0.19 ± 0.36 mg L−1, respectively, which exceeded their respective health-based guideline values. The concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) were lower than the World Health Organization provisional guideline values. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that the EC of groundwater is dependent on TDS, chlorides, and other cations contributing to hardness, while turbidity results from the Fe content in groundwater. The hazard quotients (HQs) of As, Fe, Mn, and Zn intake were lower than unity for both boys and girls, indicating no non-carcinogenic risks to the children. However, cancer risks (CRs) from As exposure through drinking water were 1.5 and 1.8 times higher than the provisional safe value of 10−4 for boys and girls, indicating a lifetime cancer risk to the school-going children. Therefore, prompt and effective monitoring is a crying need to ensure water's continuous usability for drinking purposes in the study area.
Highlights
In Bangladesh, groundwater or tubewell water (TWW) is used as the primary source for drinking, including cooking, irrigation, and many other domestic utilities (Kormoker et al 2020)
Rahman et al (2016) reported that the DW quality (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness, chloride, and trace metal(loid)s) from the primary schools in the Magura district does not meet the standard recommended by the provisional guideline value of the WHO and the Bangladesh drinking water standard (BDWS)
The hydrogeology of the Khulna region has been described as a three aquifer system consisting of a semiconfined, shallow Holocene aquifer that is vertically separated from two Pleistocene aquifers (Burgess et al 2011)
Summary
In Bangladesh, groundwater or tubewell water (TWW) is used as the primary source for drinking, including cooking, irrigation, and many other domestic utilities (Kormoker et al 2020). One-third of the world’s population uses TWWs as a primary source of drinking water (DW) and other domestic purposes where about 35–77 million people are facing adverse health-related consequences including cancers through consumption of elevated levels of As in DW. Coastal areas are much flatter and more vulnerable to sea-level rise, flooding, and saltwater intrusion into the freshwater aquifer, which influences geochemistry and physicochemical properties of groundwater (GW) such as pH, EC, TDS, hardness, turbidity, chloride content, and contamination of many other trace metal(loid)s. Water quality was monitored in Pakistan and India and serious health risks for children were reported (Baig et al 2016; Joardar et al 2021)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
