The human exposure to groundwater contamination with toxic elements is a worldwide concern. In this study, multivariate statistics coupled with probabilistic and deterministic risk estimation approaches were applied to 173 groundwater samples of Urmia aquifer (UA) to evaluate human health risks in relation to the consumption of groundwater contaminated with toxic elements. The concentrations of aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) were below their corresponding maximum permissible levels as advised by the WHO, USEPA, and Iranian guidelines. However, arsenic (As), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), and selenium (Se) were elevated at some locations. Monte Carlo simulation-based probabilistic risk estimation suggested ingestion as the dominant pathway for water-hosted element exposure. Mean values of hazard index estimated for As exposure from combined ingestion and dermal contact pathways exceeded the safe level of 1.0 for both adults and children, indicated potential non-carcinogenic health risks. The total cancer risk induced by groundwater As exceeded the acceptable limit of 1 × 10^–4. Sensitivity analysis highlighted exposure duration, element concentration in water, and average time as the most significant variables causing the probable health risks. Speciation modeling using PHREEQC highlighted the occurrence of As(V) and As(III) in groundwater of the UA. Reductive dissolution of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides and clay minerals was identified as the main controlling mechanism of As mobilization. This communication emphasizes the need for appropriate approaches in mitigating toxic element contamination of water resources in coastal parts of the UA to safeguard public health from carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks.

人类暴露于地下水中的有毒元素污染已成为全球关注的问题。在这项研究中，将多元统计与概率和确定性风险估算方法相结合，对173个Urmia a含水层（UA）地下水样品进行了评估，以评估与被有毒元素污染的地下水的消耗有关的人类健康风险。铝（Al），钡（Ba），镉（Cd），铜（Cu），锰（Mn），镍（Ni）和锌（Zn）的浓度低于世界卫生组织建议的相应最大允许水平，USEPA和伊朗指南。但是，某些地方的砷（As），铅（Pb），铁（Fe）和硒（Se）升高。基于蒙特卡洛模拟的概率风险估计表明，摄入是水基元素暴露的主要途径。对于成年人和儿童，由于联合摄入和皮肤接触途径所致的暴露均超过1.0的安全水平，因此估计的危险指数均值表明存在潜在的非致癌健康风险。地下水As引起的总癌症风险超过了可接受的1×10极限^–4。敏感性分析强调了暴露持续时间，水中元素浓度和平均时间，这是造成可能的健康风险的最重要变量。使用PHREEQC进行的物种建模突显了UA地下水中As（V）和As（III）的发生。Fe（III）（羟基）氧化物和粘土矿物的还原溶解被确定为As动员的主要控制机制。这份来文强调需要采取适当的方法来减轻阿联酋沿海地区水资源的有毒元素污染，以保护公众健康免受致癌和非致癌风险。