Abstract
The aim of present study was to monitor arsenic and other trace and toxic elemental exposure in groundwater ofT aluka Sobhodero being most populous Taluka of District Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan. 333 groundwater samples were collected on the basis of Union Councils throughout Taluka Sobhodero. Among 333 samples, 90 were collected from tube well (90-TW) and 243 were collected from hand pump (243-HP) sources in the study area. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (Perkin Elmer, AAS-100) was used for analysis of elemental concentrations but in case of arsenic analysis AAS coupled with mercury hydride generator MHS-15 was used in the laboratories of Institute of Chemistry, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Pakistan. The concentrations of arsenic, copper, iron, nickel, lead and zinc were found in range of 19.5-58µgL-1, 85-260µgL-1, 209-412µgL-1, 01-19µgL-1, 06-14µgL-1 and 114-420µgL-1respectively in HP samples and8.6-36 µgL-1, 16-90 µgL-1, 45-100 µgL-1, 01-09 µgL-1, 03-08 µgL-1 and 22-111µgL-1 correspondingly in TW samples. The proposed maximum contamination limit (MCL) for As, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in drinking water was10, 2000,300,20, 100, and 3000µgL-1 respectively as specified by WHO. The comparative study indicated that groundwater samples collected from TW sources have shown lowest levels of As, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn as compared to HP samples possibly due to higher depths of the motor pumps.
Highlights
Water is an essential component for survival of life on earth
Groundwater samples were divided into two categories such as hand pump (HP) and tube well (TW) samples
It was found that level of arsenic was reached up to 58μgL-1 in Union Council Madd in sample number 122c
Summary
Water is an essential component for survival of life on earth. It contains important minerals for humans as well as for the organisms living on earth and aquatics. Contamination of drinking water especially with toxic elements and arsenic is a major issue from both the public health and the environmental health perspectives Arsenic is widely distributed in nature (in air, water and soil) in the form of either metalloids or chemical compounds. It is used commercially, in pesticide, wood preservative, in the manufacture of glass, paper and semiconductors. It was found that organic arsenicals were more rapidly excreted than inorganic forms and pentavalent arsenicals were observed to be cleared faster than trivalent ones (Wang et al 2012; Spayd et al 2012; Okkenhaug et al 2012)
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