Groundwater nitrate pollution is a serious threat to human health in many regions of the world. The present study was performed to assess the nitrate contamination in groundwater in the region of Nirmal province, South India, where people purely depend on groundwater for drinking purposes. The associated human health risks for different age groups (male, female, and children) also were evaluated based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency model. Results indicate that nitrate concentration in groundwater is in the range of 0.8–130 mg/L with a mean of 36.51 mg/L. Furthermore, 26.47% of groundwater samples exceeded the WHO drinking water guidelines for NO₃⁻ in the study region. The contribution of oral ingestion is very higher than the dermal contact in the total hazard quotient or noncarcinogenic health risk. The total hazard quotient values ranged from 0.02 to 3.13 for adult males, 0.02 to 3.70 for adult females, and 0.03 to 4.32 for children. The health risk assessment highlights that children are more exposed to the noncarcinogenic health risks of nitrate than adult females and males in the study region. Therefore, specific groundwater quality measures should be formulated to address the health risk problems for children in the study region.

在世界许多地区，地下水硝酸盐污染严重威胁着人类健康。进行本研究是为了评估印度南部尼尔玛省（Nirma l province）地区地下水中的硝酸盐污染，那里的人们纯粹依靠地下水来饮用。还根据美国环境保护署的模型评估了不同年龄组（男性，女性和儿童）的相关人类健康风险。结果表明，地下水中的硝酸盐浓度在0.8-130 mg / L的范围内，平均值为36.51 mg / L。此外，有26.47％的地下水样本超过了WHO的NO ₃饮用水准则^-在研究区域。在总危险商或非致癌健康风险中，口服摄入的贡献比皮肤接触高得多。成年男性的总危险商值为0.02至3.13，成年女性为0.02至3.70，儿童为0.03至4.32。健康风险评估突出显示，与研究区域的成年女性和男性相比，儿童更易遭受硝酸盐的非致癌性健康风险。因此，应制定具体的地下水水质措施，以解决研究区域儿童的健康风险问题。