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Determination of arsenic contents in groundwater of District Rahim Yar Khan Southern Punjab, Pakistan

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Abstract

In southern Punjab, arsenic (As) contents in groundwater is one of the major problems. A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the extent of As concentration along with pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved salts (TDS), and heavy metals Cu, Ni, Cd, Fe, and Mn in 121 groundwater samples of the study area. The range values of As were below detection limit (BDL) to 100 ppb, pH (6.4–7.9), EC (0.503–40.8 mS/cm), Cu (BDL—1142 μg/L), Ni (BDL—179.2 μg/L), Fe (1.1–995.4 μg/L), and Mn (0.2–499.2 μg/L) in groundwater. The As concentration in 33.9 % samples was higher than prescribed limit (10 ppb) of WHO for drinking water while TDS in 70.3 %, Cu in 14 %, Ni in 5.7 %, Fe of 15.7 %, and Mn in 28.92 % were observed higher than their respective permissible limits. The correlation coefficient (r) was carried out for seven parameters, indicating positive correlation of As with Fe (0.27). Contamination index (C d) of 44.9 % ground water was observed >3 indicating the extent of contamination. The present study indicated the water samples collected from riverine area had higher concentration of As than the samples from canal irrigated or in vicinity of the desert area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan

    Muhammad Tariq Mahar & Mushtaq Ahmad Baloch

  2. Institute of Advanced Research Studies in Chemical Sciences (IARSCS)/HTCRL, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan

    Muhammad Yar Khuhawar & Taj Muhammad Jahangir

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  1. Muhammad Tariq Mahar
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  2. Muhammad Yar Khuhawar
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  3. Taj Muhammad Jahangir
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  4. Mushtaq Ahmad Baloch
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Correspondence to Muhammad Tariq Mahar.

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Mahar, M.T., Khuhawar, M.Y., Jahangir, T.M. et al. Determination of arsenic contents in groundwater of District Rahim Yar Khan Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Arab J Geosci 8, 10983–10994 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1979-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-1979-0

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