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Arsenic level in drinking water, its correlation with water quality parameters, and associated health risks

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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence and likelihood of health risks related to arsenic in drinking water of all counties of the Hamadan province in the northwest of Iran. In this work, 370 samples were collected from all of the water resources of urban and rural regions, during 5 years (2017 to 2021). Oracle Crystal Ball software was used to perform the Monte Carlo simulation and investigate the potential health risks. According to the results, the average values of arsenic in the nine counties were in the order Kabudarahang (40.1 ppb), Malayer (13.1 ppb), Nahavand (6.1 ppb), Bahar (2.05 ppb), Famenin (0.41 ppb), Asadabad (0.36 ppb), Tuyserkan (0.28 ppb), Razan (0.14 ppb), and Hamadan (< 0.1 ppb). The highest concentration of arsenic occurred in Kabudarahang with a maximum value of 185 ppb. In the spring season, the average concentration of the cations, including calcium, magnesium, sodium, lead, cadmium, and chromium, obtained 109.51 mg/l, 44.67 mg/l, 20.50 mg/l, 88.76 ppb, 0.31 ppb, and 0.02 ppb, respectively. Based on the Delphi classification, the P 90% of oral lifetime cancer risk, in Hamadan province, were within level II (low risk) to VII (extremely high risk). The risk analysis revealed there was a possible carcinogenic risk to humans from oral exposure to As-contaminated groundwater, especially in Kabudarahang county. Therefore, there is an urgent need for management and precise measures in contaminated areas to reduce and prevent the adverse health effects of arsenic.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Technology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (No.140009308067).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Research Centre for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Alireza Rahmani & Samira Khamutian

  2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Amin Doosti-Irani

  3. Department of Disease Prevention and Control, Deputy of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Omid Saatchi

  4. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Mohammad Javad Shokoohizadeh

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  1. Alireza Rahmani
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  2. Samira Khamutian
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Contributions

Alireza Rahmani: formal analysis, investigation, supervision, and review and editing; Samira Khamutian: formal analysis, investigation, methodology, supervision, and writing, review and editing. Amin Doosti-Irani: formal analysis, methodology, and review and Editing. Omid Saatchi: data collection and review and editing. Mohammad Javad Shokoohizadeh: formal analysis, investigation, and review and editing.

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Correspondence to Samira Khamutian or Mohammad Javad Shokoohizadeh.

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Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by Research Ethics Committees of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (date 11/12/2021/No.IR.UMSHA.REC.1400.708).

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Rahmani, A., Khamutian, S., Doosti-Irani, A. et al. Arsenic level in drinking water, its correlation with water quality parameters, and associated health risks. Environ Monit Assess 195, 899 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11486-1

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