Potential arsenic–chromium–lead Co-contamination in the hilly terrain of Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern India: Genesis and health perspective

Potential arsenic–chromium–lead Co-contamination in the hilly terrain of Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern India: Genesis and health perspective

In the recent times, multi-metal co-contamination in the groundwater of various parts of the globe has emerged as a challenging environmental health problems. While arsenic (As) has been reported with high fluoride and at times with uranium; and Cr & Pb are also found in aquifers under high anth...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 323; p. 138067
Main Authors: Goswami, Ritusmita, Bhagat, Chandrashekhar, Lollen, Igo, Neog, Nikita, Barache, Umesh B., Thakur, Ritu, Mahlknecht, Jurgen, Kumar, Manish
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2023
Subjects:
Arsenic - analysis
Chromium
Chromium - analysis
Drinking Water - analysis
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Groundwater
Groundwater - analysis
Health risk
Hilly terrain
Humans
India
Lead - analysis
Pollution index
Surface sediments
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
India
Chromium
Surface sediments
Groundwater
Pollution index
Hilly terrain
Health risk
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the recent times, multi-metal co-contamination in the groundwater of various parts of the globe has emerged as a challenging environmental health problems. While arsenic (As) has been reported with high fluoride and at times with uranium; and Cr & Pb are also found in aquifers under high anthropogenic impacts. The present work probably for the first time traces the As–Cr–Pb co-contamination in the pristine aquifers of a hilly terrain that are under relatively less stress from the anthropogenic activities. Based on the analyses of twenty-two (n = 22) groundwater (GW) samples and six (n = 6) sediment samples, it was found that Cr being leached from the natural sources as evident from 100% of samples with dissolve Cr exceeding the prescribed drinking water limit. Generic plots suggests rock-water interaction as the major hydrogeological processes with mixed Ca2+-Na+-HCO3- type water. Wide range of pH suggests localized human interferences, as well as indicative of both calcite and silicate weathering processes. In general water samples were found high only with Cr and Fe, however all sediment samples were found to contain As–Cr–Pb. This implies that the groundwater is under-risk of co-contamination of highly toxic trio of As–Cr–Pb. Multivariate analyses indicate that the changing pH as the causative factor for Cr leaching into the groundwater. This is a new finding for a pristine hilly aquifers, and we suspect such condition may also be present in other parts of globe, and thus precautionary investigations are needed to prevent this catastrophic situation to arise, and to alert the community in advance. [Display omitted] •We trace the As–Cr–Pb co-contamination in the pristine aquifers of a hilly terrain.•Wide range of pH suggests localized human interferences, calcite and silicate weathering.•Groundwater had high Cr and Fe, however all sediment samples contained As–Cr–Pb.•Groundwater is under-risk of co-contamination of highly toxic trio of As–Cr–Pb.•Precautionary investigations are needed to prevent this catastrophic situation to arise.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138067