Abstract
Groundwater is an essential freshwater resource utilized in industry, agriculture, and daily life. In the Huaibei Plain (HBP), where groundwater significantly influences socio-economic development, information about its quality, hydrochemistry, and related health risks remains limited. We conducted a comprehensive groundwater sampling in the HBP and examined its rock characteristics, water quality index (WQI), and potential health risks. The results revealed that the primary factors shaping groundwater hydrochemistry were rock dissolution and weathering, cation exchange, and anthropogenic activities. WQI assessment indicated that only 73% of the groundwaters is potable, as Fe2+, Mn2+, NO3−, and F− contents in the water could pose non-carcinogenic hazards to humans. Children were more susceptible to these health risks through oral ingestion than adults. Uncertainty analysis indicated that the probabilities of non-carcinogenic risk were approximately 57% and 31% for children and adults, respectively. Sensitivity analysis further identified fluoride as the primary factor influencing non-carcinogenic risks, indicating that reducing fluoride contamination should be prioritized in future groundwater management in the HBP.
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Data availability
The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors greatly acknowledged the editors and reviewers for polishing the language of the paper and for in-depth discussion.
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This work was supported by The University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province (GXXT-2021–017) and National Science Foundation of China (41972166).
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Jinzhao Xu: writing — original draft and conceptualization. Guijian Liu: writing — review and editing. Ruijia Liu: editing. Wen Si: sampling. Miao He: sampling. Guanyu Wang: sampling. Mingzhen Zhang: software. Muyuan Lu: software. Muhammad Arif: writing — review and editing.
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Xu, J., Liu, G., Liu, R. et al. Hydrochemistry, quality, and integrated health risk assessments of groundwater in the Huaibei Plain, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 123466–123479 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30966-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30966-y