Abstract
This research was conducted to understand the seasonal characteristics of water quality for domestic purpose in Hancheng City of the Guanzhong plain, China. The health risks were also assessed using the water quality monitoring data collected from the Hancheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention. For this study, 48 samples were collected from the drinking water distribution system (chlorinated water and terminal tap water) in the dry and wet seasons, and were analyzed for pH, total hardness (TH), total dissolved solids (TDS), Cl−, SO42−, F−, NH4-N, NO3-N, Cr6+, As, Hg and Mn. The water quality was assessed using the entropy water quality index (EWQI) and the results show that above 80% of the water samples are of good quality which is suitable for drinking and other domestic purposes. The potential non-carcinogenic risks of Cr6+, As, F−, and NO3-N and carcinogenic risks of Cr6+ and As to consumers were assessed by the model recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The non-carcinogenic health risks in the dry season are higher than the risks in the wet season for both adults and children. Water quality indicators considered in the risk assessment contribute with different degrees to the total non-carcinogenic risk during the dry and wet seasons. The order of the average non-carcinogenic risk values of the chlorinated water and terminal tap water in the dry season was F− > As > NO3-N > Cr6+, while that in the wet season was F− > NO3-N > Cr6+ > As. People face higher carcinogenic risk in the wet season in terms of terminal tap water consumption, while they face higher carcinogenic risk in the dry season in terms of the chlorinated water. Children face almost twice higher the carcinogenic risks than the adults.
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Acknowledgements
This research has been financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41602238 and 41761144059), the Young Stars Program granted by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2016KJXX-29), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of CHD (Grant No. 300102299301), the Fok Ying Tong Education Foundation (Grant No. 161098), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 2015M580804, 2016M590911, 2016T090878 and 2017T100719), the Shaanxi Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 2015BSHTDZZ09 and 2016BSHTDZZ03), and the Ten Thousand Talent Program (Grant No. W03070125). We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their useful and constructive comments. The Hancheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention is also acknowledged for the assistance in data analysis.
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Ji, Y., Wu, J., Wang, Y. et al. Seasonal Variation of Drinking Water Quality and Human Health Risk Assessment in Hancheng City of Guanzhong Plain, China. Expo Health 12, 469–485 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-020-00357-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-020-00357-6