Abstract
Groundwater pollution in the Pingshuo mining area is strongly associated with mining activities, with heavy metals (HMs) representing predominant pollutants. To obtain accurate information about the pollution status and health risks of groundwater, 189 groups of samples were collected from four types of groundwater, during three periods of the year, and analyzed for HMs. The results showed that the concentration of HMs in groundwater was higher near the open pit, waste slag pile, riverfront area, and human settlements. Except for Ordovician groundwater, excessive HMs were found in all investigated groundwater of the mining area, as compared with the standard thresholds. Fe exceeded the threshold in 13–75% of the groundwater samples. Three sources of HMs were identified and quantified by Pearson’s correlation analysis and the PMF model, including coal mining activities (68.22%), industrial, agricultural, and residential chemicals residue and leakage (16.91%), and natural sources (14.87%). The Nemerow pollution index revealed that 7.58% and 100% of Quaternary groundwater and mine water samples were polluted. The health risk index for HMs in groundwater showed that the non-carcinogenic health risk ranged from 0.18 to 0.42 for adults, indicating an acceptable level. Additionally, high carcinogenic risks were identified in Quaternary groundwater (95.45%), coal series groundwater (91.67%), and Ordovician groundwater (26.67%). Both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were greater for children than adults, highlighting their increased vulnerability to HMs in groundwater. This study provides a scientific foundation for managing groundwater quality and ensuring drinking water safety in mining areas.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Adeli, M., Mohammadi, Z., Keshavarzi, B., Amjadian, K., & Kafi, M. (2021). Heavy metal(loid) pollution of a hard-rock aquifer: Evidence, distribution, and source. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(26), 34742–34761. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13079-2
Ali, H., Khan, E., & Sajad, M. A. (2013). Phytoremediation of heavy metals-concepts and applications. Chemosphere, 91(7), 869–881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.01.075
Bhuiyan, M. A. H., Parvez, L., Islam, M. A., Dampare, S. B., & Suzuki, S. (2010). Heavy metal pollution of coal mine-affected agricultural soils in the northern part of Bangladesh. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 173(1–3), 384–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.08.085
Bodrud-Doza, M., Bhuiyan, M. A. H., Islam, S. M. D., Quraishi, S. B., Muhib, M. I., Rakib, M. A., & Rahman, M. S. (2019). Delineation of trace metals contamination in groundwater using geostatistical techniques: a study on Dhaka City of Bangladesh. Groundwater for Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2019.03.006
Caboi, R., & Cidu, R. (1999). Environmental mineralogy and geochemistry of the abandoned Pb-Zn montevecchio-Ingurtosu mining district, Sardinia, Italy. Chronique De La Recherche Miniere, 67, 21–28.
Cai, L. M., Wang, Q. S., Wen, H. H., Luo, J., & Wang, S. (2019). Heavy metals in agricultural soils from a typical township in Guangdong province, China: Occurrences and spatial distribution. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 168, 184–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.10.092
Chai, L., Wang, Y. H., Wang, X., Ma, L., Cheng, Z. X., & Su, L. M. (2021). Pollution characteristics, spatial distributions, and source apportionment of heavy metals in cultivated soil in Lanzhou, China. Ecological Indicators, 125, 107507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107507
Chen, J. Y., Gui, H. R., Guo, Y., & Li, J. (2022). Health risk assessment of heavy metals in shallow groundwater of coal-poultry farming districts. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12000. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912000
Cui, L., Wang, X. N., Li, J., Gao, X. Y., Zhang, J. W., & Liu, Z. T. (2021). Ecological and health risk assessments and water quality criteria of heavy metals in the Haihe river. Environmental Pollution, 290, 117971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117971
Egbueri, J. C., & Unigwe, C. O. (2020). Understanding the extent of heavy metal pollution in drinking water supplies from Umunya, Nigeria: An indexical and statistical assessment. Analytical Letters, 53(13), 2122–2144. https://doi.org/10.1080/00032719.2020.1731521
Giri, S., & Singh, A. K. (2014). Risk assessment, statistical source identification and seasonal fluctuation of dissolved metals in the Subarnarekha River, India. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 265, 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.09.067
Gu, C. K., Zhang, Y., Peng, Y., Leng, P. F., Zhu, N., Qiao, Y. F., Li, Z., & Li, F. D. (2020). Spatial distribution and health risk assessment of dissolved trace elements in groundwater in southern China. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 7886. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64267-y
Guo, Y., Zhang, Y. X., Zhao, X., Xu, J., Qiu, G. F., Jia, W. K., Wu, J. J., & Guo, F. H. (2022). Multifaceted evaluation of distribution, occurrence, and leaching features of typical heavy metals in different-sized coal gasification fine slag from Ningdong region, China: A case study. Science of the Total Environment, 831, 154726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154726
Haghnazar, H., Johannesson, K. H., Gonzalez-Pinzon, R., Pourakbar, M., Aghayani, E., Rajabi, A., & Hashemi, A. A. (2022). Groundwater geochemistry, quality, and pollution of the largest lake basin in the Middle East: Comparison of PMF and PCA-MLR receptor models and application of the source-oriented HHRA approach. Chemosphere, 288(1), 132489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132489
Haque, M. M., Niloy, N. M., Nayna, O. K., Fatema, K. J., Quraishi, S. B., Park, J., Kim, K., & Tareq, S. M. (2020). Variability of water quality and metal pollution index in the Ganges River, Bangladesh. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(34), 42582–42599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10060-3
Huang, J. L., Wu, Y. Y., Sun, J. X., Li, X., Geng, X. L., Zhao, M. L., Sun, T., & Fan, Z. Q. (2021). Health risk assessment of heavy metal(loid)s in park soils of the largest megacity in China by using Monte Carlo simulation coupled with positive matrix factorization model. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 415, 125629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125629
Jiang, C. L., Zhao, Q., Zheng, L. G., Chen, X., Li, C., & Ren, M. X. (2021a). Distribution, source and health risk assessment based on the monte carlo method of heavy metals in shallow groundwater in an area affected by mining activities, China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 224(112679), 112679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112679
Jiang, H. H., Cai, L. M., Hu, G. C., Wen, H. H., Luo, J., Xu, H. Q., & Chen, L. G. (2021b). An integrated exploration on health risk assessment quantification of potentially hazardous elements in soils from the perspective of sources. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 208, 111489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111489
Kara, H., Yetis, A. D., & Temel, H. (2021). Assessment of heavy metal contamination in groundwater of Diyarbakir oil production area, (Turkey) using pollution indices and chemometric analysis. Environmental Earth Sciences, 80(20), 697–711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10011-2
Kaur, M., Kumar, A., Mehra, R., & Kaur, I. (2020). Quantitative assessment of exposure of heavy metals in groundwater and soil on human health in Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 42(1), 77–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00294-7
Khan, R., Saxena, A., & Shukla, S. (2021). Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the heavy metal pollution in the River Gomti, Lucknow city, Uttar Pradesh, India. Environmental Quality Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.21746
Kim, D. M., Kwon, H. L., & Im, D. G. (2023). Determination of contamination sources and geochemical behaviors of metals in soil of a mine area using Cu, Pb, Zn, and S isotopes and positive matrix factorization. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 447, 130827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130827
Kim, D. M., Yun, S. T., Cho, Y., Hong, J. H., Batsaikhan, B., & Oh, J. (2017). Hydrochemical assessment of environmental status of surface and ground water in mine areas in South Korea: Emphasis on geochemical behaviors of metals and sulfate in ground water. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 183, 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2017.09.014
Li, L. M., Wu, J., Lu, J., Li, K. X., Zhang, X. Y., Min, X. Y., Gao, C. L., & Xu, J. (2022). Water quality evaluation and ecological-health risk assessment on trace elements in surface water of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 241, 113775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113775
Liu, J., Liu, Y. J., Liu, Y., Liu, Z., & Zhang, A. N. (2018). Quantitative contributions of the major sources of heavy metals in soils to ecosystem and human health risks: A case study of Yulin, China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 164, 261–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.08.030
Ma, C. A., Wang, Q. R., & Cai, Q. X. (2007). Evaluation of heavy metal pollution in large open-pit coal mines. Mining Safety and Environmental Protection, 34(2), 36–40.
Mahapatra, S. R., Venugopal, T., Shanmugasundaram, A., Giridharan, L., & Jayaprakash, M. (2020). Heavy metal index and geographical information system (GIS) approach to study heavy metal contamination: A case study of north Chennai groundwater. Applied Water Science, 10(12), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-020-01321-0
Miguel, D. E., Iribarren, I., Chacón, E., Ordoñez, A., & Charlesworth, S. (2007). Risk-based evaluation of the exposure of children to trace elements in playgrounds in Madrid (Spain). Chemosphere, 66(3), 505–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.05.065
Mukherjee, I., Singh, U. K., Singh, R. P., Anshumali, A., & KumariJhaMehta, D. P. K. P. (2020). Characterization of heavy metal pollution in an anthropogenically and geologically influenced semi-arid region of east India and assessment of ecological and human health risks. Science of the Total Environment, 705, 135801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135801
Qin, W. J., Han, D. G., Song, X. F., & Liu, S. H. (2021). Sources and migration of heavy metals in a karst water system under the threats of an abandoned Pb-Zn mine, Southwest China. Environmental Pollution, 277, 116774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116774
Qu, L. Y., Huang, H., Xia, F., Liu, Y. Y., Dahlgren, R. A., Zhang, M. H., & Mei, K. (2018). Risk analysis of heavy metal concentration in surface waters across the rural-urban interface of the Wen-Rui Tang River, China. Environmental Pollution, 237, 639–649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.020
Sajjadi, S. A., Mohammadi, A., Khosravi, R., & Zarei, A. (2022). Distribution, exposure, and human health risk analysis of heavy metals in drinking groundwater of Ghayen County, Iran. Geocarto International, 37(26), 13127–13144. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2022.2076916
Santana, C. S., Olivares, D. M. M., Silva, V. H. C., Luzardo, F. H. M., Velasco, F. G., & Jesus, R. M. (2020). Assessment of water resources pollution associated with mining activity in a semi-arid region. Journal of Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111148
Sharma, K., Raju, N. J., Singh, N., & Sreekesh, S. (2022). Heavy metal pollution in groundwater of urban Delhi environs: Pollution indices and health risk assessment. Urban Climate. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101233
Sheng, D. R., Meng, X. H., Wen, X. H., Wu, J., Yu, H. J., & Wu, M. (2022). Contamination characteristics, source identification, and source-specific health risks of heavy metal(loid)s in groundwater of an arid oasis region in Northwest China. Science of the Total Environment, 841, 156733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156733
Shi, X. M., Liu, S., Song, L., Wu, C. S., Yang, B., Lu, H. Z., Wang, X., & Zakari, S. (2022). Contamination and source-specific risk analysis of soil heavy metals in a typical coal industrial city, central China. Science of the Total Environment, 836, 155694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155694
Shil, S., & Singh, U. K. (2019). Health risk assessment and spatial variations of dissolved heavy metals and metalloids in a tropical river basin system. Ecological Indicators, 106, 105455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105455
Singh, U. K., & Kumar, B. (2017). Pathways of heavy metals contamination and associated human health risk in Ajay River basin, India. Chemosphere, 174, 183–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.01.103
Sun, L., Liu, T. X., Duan, L. M., Zhang, W. R., & Zheng, G. F. (2022a). Spatial and temporal characteristics of isotopes of different water sources and implications for water circulation in mining areas. Advances in Water Science, 33(5), 805–815. https://doi.org/10.14042/j.cnki.32.1309.2022.05.010
Sun, L., Liu, T. X., Duan, L. M., Zhang, W. R., & Zheng, G. F. (2022b). Hydrochemical characteristics and fluorine distribution and causes of different water bodies in Pingshuo mining area. Environmental Science, 43(12), 5547–5559. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.202202176
Sun, S., Tang, Q. H., Konar, M., Huang, Z. W., Gleeson, T., Ma, T., Fang, C. L., & Cai, X. M. (2022c). Domestic groundwater depletion supports China’s full supply chains. Water Resources Research, 58(5), e2021WR030695. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR030695
Wang, F. F., Guan, Q. Y., Tian, J., Lin, J. K., Yang, Y. Y., Yang, L. Q., & Pan, N. H. (2020). Contamination characteristics, source apportionment, and health risk assessment of heavy metals in agricultural soil in the Hexi corridor. CATENA, 191, 104573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104573
Wang, J., Liu, G. J., Liu, H. Q., & Lam, P. K. S. (2017). Multivariate statistical evaluation of dissolved trace elements and a water quality assessment in the middle reaches of Huaihe river, Anhui China. Science of the Total Environment, 583(1), 421–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.088
Wang, S., Cai, L. M., Wen, H. H., Luo, J., Wang, Q. S., & Liu, X. (2019a). Spatial distribution and source apportionment of heavy metals in soil from a typical county-level city of Guangdong Province, China. Science of the Total Environment, 655(1), 92–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.244
Wang, Y., Jiao, J. J., Zhang, K., & Zhou, Y. Z. (2016). Enrichment and mechanisms of heavy metal mobility in a coastal quaternary groundwater system of the Pearl River Delta, China. Science of the Total Environment, 545–546, 493–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.019
Wang, Y., Dong, R., Zhou, Y. Z., & Luo, X. (2019b). Characteristics of groundwater discharge to river and related heavy metal transportation in a mountain mining area of Dabaoshan, Southern China. Science of the Total Environment, 679, 346–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.273
Wang, Z. Y., Su, Q., Wang, S., Gao, Z. J., & Liu, J. T. (2021). Spatial distribution and health risk assessment of dissolved heavy metals in groundwater of eastern China coastal zone. Environmental Pollution, 290, 118016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118016
Wen, X. H., Lu, J., Wu, J., Lin, Y. C., & Luo, Y. M. (2019). Influence of coastal groundwater salinization on the distribution and risks of heavy metals. Science of the Total Environment, 652, 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.250
Xiao, L. L., Li, W., Zhu, C. M., Yang, S. J., Zhou, M., Wang, B., Wang, X., Wang, D. M., Ma, J. X., Zhou, Y., & Chen, W. H. (2021). Cadmium exposure, fasting blood glucose changes, and type 2 diabetes mellitus: A longitudinal prospective study in China. Environmental Research, 192, 110259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110259
Xie, H., Liang, Y. P., Li, J., Zou, S. Z., Shen, H. Y., Zhao, C. H., & Wang, Z. H. (2021). Distribution characteristics and health risk assessment of metal elements in groundwater of Longzici spring area. Environmental Science, 42(9), 4257–4266. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.202101204
Yan, D. X., Bai, Z. K., & Liu, X. Y. (2020). Heavy metal pollution characteristics and influencing factors in agricultural soils: Evidence from Shuozhou city, Shanxi province, China. Sustainability, 12(5), 1907–1921. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051907
Yan, S., Guo, H. M., Yin, J. H., Hu, H. Y., Cui, D., & Gao, B. Y. (2022). Genesis of high hexavalent chromium groundwater in deep aquifers from loess plateau of Northern Shaanxi, China. Water Research, 216, 118323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118323
Yoon, S., Kim, D. M., Yu, S., Park, J., & Yun, S. T. (2023). Metal(loid)-specific sources and distribution mechanisms of riverside soil contamination near an abandoned gold mine in Mongolia. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 443, 130294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130294
Zhang, S. Z., Liu, G. J., & Yuan, Z. J. (2019). Environmental geochemistry of heavy metals in the groundwater of coal mining areas: A case study in Dingji coal mine, Huainan coalfield, China. Environmental Forensics, 20(3), 265–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/15275922.2019.1629128
Zheng, C. M., & Bennett, G. D. (2002). Applied contaminant transport modeling. Wiley-Interscience.
Zhong, C. H., Yang, Q. C., Liang, J., & Ma, H. Y. (2022). Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation with AHP and entropy methods and health risk assessment of groundwater in Yinchuan Basin, northwest China. Environmental Research, 204, 111956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111956
Zhou, J. M., Jiang, Z. C., Xu, G. L., Qin, X. Q., Huang, Q. B., & Zhang, L. K. (2019). Water quality analysis and health risk assessment for groundwater at Xiangshui, Chongzuo. Environmental Science, 40(6), 2675–2685. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.201810234
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editors for their valuable suggestions and comments on the manuscript. We thank Mr. Guanghua Liu, Ms.Lin Sun and Ms.Meng He for the assistant of the sample pretreatment and index test.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (The Yellow River Water Science Research Joint Found U2243234), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51939006), the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Science and Technology Leading Talent Team (No. 2022LJRC0007), the Ministry of Education Innovative Research Team (No.IRT_17R60), the Science and Technology Innovation Team in Key fields of Ministry of Science and Technology, China (No. 2015RA4013), the Inner Mongolia Industrial Innovative Research Team (2012), the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University Basic Research Project (Nos. BR221204 and BR221012).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
LS was involved in data collection, formal analysis, investigation, software, writing—original draft, writing—review & editing. TL helped in supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. LD assisted in reviewing, project administration. XT, WZ, HC, ZW, and GZ helped in investigation.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Consent to participate
Consent for publication was obtained from all participants.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, L., Liu, T., Duan, L. et al. Spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and risk assessment of heavy metals in groundwater of Pingshuo mining area. Environ Geochem Health 46, 141 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01906-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01906-7