Multi-Elements in Source Water (Drinking and Surface Water) within Five Cities from the Semi-Arid and Arid Region, NW China: Occurrence, Spatial Distribution and Risk Assessment.

Ting Wu,Xuemeng Sun,Yuwei Ai,Dongying Liu,Yue Cai,Tao Yang,Xiaoyun Li,Xiaoping Li,Hongtao Yu,Yanan Zhao,Howard Mielke,Xu Zhang,Lijun Wang

doi:10.3390/ijerph14101168

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the concentration of multi-elements (MEs) in source water (surface and drinking water) and assess their quality for sustainability. A total of 161 water samples including 88 tap drinking waters (DW) and 73 surface waters (SW) were collected from five cities in Xi’an, Yan’an, Xining, Lanzhou, and Urumqi in northwestern China. Eighteen parameters including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total organic carbon (TOC) total nitrogen (TN), chemical compositions of anions (F−, Cl−, NO3−, HCO3−, SO42−), cations (NH4+, K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+), and metals (lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu)) were analyzed in the first time at the five cities . The results showed that pH values and concentrations of Cl−, SO42−, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cd, Cr, Cu in DW were within the permissible limits of the Chinese Drinking Water Quality Criteria, whereas the concentrations of other ions (F−, NO3−, NH4+ and Pb) exceeded their permissible values. In terms of the SW, the concentrations of F−, Cl−, NO3−, SO42− were over the third range threshold i.e., water suitable for fishing and swimming of the Surface Water Quality Standards in China. The spatial distributions of most MEs in source water are similar, and there was no clear variation for all ions and metals. The metals in DW may be caused by water pipes, faucets and their fittings. The noncarcinogenic risk of metals in DW for local children are in decreasing order Cr > Cd > Pb > Cu. The carcinogenic risk from Cr exposure was at the acceptable level according to threshold of USEPA. Although the comprehensive index of potential ecological assessment of Cr, Cd, Pb and Cu in SW ranked at low risk level and was in the order of Huang River in Xining > Peaceful Canal in Urumqi > Yan River in Yan’an > Yellow River in Lanzhou, their adverse effects to ecology and human health at a low concentration in local semi-arid and arid areas should not be ignored in the long run.

Highlights

Multi-elements (MEs) including cations, anions, heavy metals (HMs) and total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in drinking water (DW) and surface water (SW) are of major concern because they are persistent and bio-accumulative in nature, and they may pose a potential health risk to residents in urban areas [1]
All pH, Cl−, SO4 2−, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cd, Cr and Cu values of drinking waters (DW) are within the permissible limit, whereas F−, NO3 −, NH4 + and Pb exceed the Drinking Water Quality Criteria of
A total of 161 water samples were collected from the residential taps and city rivers

Summary

Introduction

Multi-elements (MEs) including cations, anions, heavy metals (HMs) and total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in drinking water (DW) and surface water (SW) are of major concern because they are persistent and bio-accumulative in nature, and they may pose a potential health risk to residents in urban areas [1]. Water quality and the corresponding health risks have been reported from many parts of the world (i.e., USA, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, India, China, Europe) [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Intensification of industrial, urban development, and agricultural activities have severely degraded the quality of water sources worldwide, in particular, toxic element levels in the aquatic environment have increased [8]. Access to high quality water sources is one of the decisive factors for global, regional, and local development, especially in semi-arid and arid regions. The supplied water quality and suitability for diverse uses are a challenge for most countries

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