Abstract
The present work deals with a detailed study of India’s Damodar river basin’s pollution profile (groundwater, surface water, industrial water, and mine water). The present paper aims to create a large data bank comprising the latest (2019; through water sampling and analysis) and historical (1980–2018; through literature survey) data on heavy metal loads (HML) and other hydrochemical parameters in water bodies of the Damodar basin (at 99 sampling locations). Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied to determine the possible sources of the HML in the groundwater and surface water. Anthropogenic inputs from industrial effluents and mining activities were identified as the sources of the HML. The degree of HML exposure (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, As, Co, Cd, Hg, Cr, Ni, and Cu) was considered for computing the heavy metal pollution indices (HMPI). Associated potential health risk to the local population was also studied. Most HMPIs (vary within 50–9000) appeared to cross the critical value (~ 100). According to the results of noncarcinogenic risk, most hazard indices (varied within 0.01–116.34) surpassed the allowable limit (~ 1), demonstrating detrimental health effects on adults and children. Ni, Cd, As, and Cr showed very high cancer indices (varied within 9.5 × 10−5–1.76 × 10−1) that could be considered as high risk (≫ 1 × 10−4, allowable limit) for cancer via ingestion and dermal pathways. A carcinogenic risk assessment map of the basin was also prepared for the first time. Durgapur and Burnpur-Asansol cities have been identified as the most vulnerable areas. The authors also compared the water quality parameters of the Damodar river with other highly polluted and major rivers of India. The authors recommended (i) strict regulation and efficient management of HML monitoring, (ii) initiating public awareness programme about Damodar’s pollution, and (iii) a detailed medical survey to understand the impact of water pollution on the population.
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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and are not publicly available but may be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The authors would like to acknowledge National Institute of Technology Durgapur for other administrative support to carry out this research work.
Funding
The authors received financial support from National Institute of Technology Durgapur. The funding agency DST Government of India supported this research through a project under BRICS Multilateral Call 2017 (Project Grant No. DST/IMRCD/Pilot Call 2/Enviorganic/2018 (G) dated 28 March 2019).
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Seal, K., Chaudhuri, H., Pal, S. et al. A study on water pollution scenario of the Damodar river basin, India: assessment of potential health risk using long term database (1980–2019) and statistical analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 53320–53352 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19402-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19402-9