River Hooghly, a tributary of river Ganges is one of the major rivers of Asia having traditional, social, economic, religious, and spiritual values. Water samples were collected from 18 sampling locations of river Hooghly during summer (dry), monsoon (wet), and winter (cold) seasons. The samples are analysed for basic physicochemical properties and abundance of selected potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are measured. Several PTEs, e.g., Al, Fe, Ni, and Pb, were found to be above the permissible limits, prescribed by national and international guidelines for safe human consumption. The trend of variation in the mean PTE concentrations showed the following order: Cd < Pb < Co < Cr < Ni < Cu < Zn < Mn < Fe. Due to the presence of high total dissolve solid (TDS) and PTE contents, the water quality of river Hooghly is not suitable for direct human consumption. The evaluated Water Quality Index (WQI) value showed a distinct spatio-temporal variation indicating very severe condition of water quality, which is deteriorating gradually from upstream to downstream. In summer, monsoon, and winter, the highest WQI values were observed in Maushuni Island (S15), Petuaghat (S18), and Tapoban (S17), respectively. However, the non-carcinogenic human health risk in terms of Hazard Quotient and Hazard Index values of PTEs indicates no immediate adverse impact on human health due to exposure of PTE contaminated water from river Hooghly through ingestion or dermal route. Though, these risk values for children were higher than adults warranting the adoption of a long-term management plan to cope with potential human health risks. The result suggests implementation of a combination of stringent socio-legal regulations and numerical models for sustainable water related health risk management in river Hooghly.

中文翻译：

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下恒河三角洲潜在有毒元素的时空分布及其对非致癌性健康风险管理的影响

豪格利河是恒河的支流，是亚洲具有传统，社会，经济，宗教和精神价值的主要河流之一。在夏季（干旱），季风（潮湿）和冬季（寒冷）的季节，从Hooghly河的18个采样点采集水样。分析样品的基本理化特性，并测量选定的潜在毒性元素（PTE）的含量。发现一些PTE，例如Al，Fe，Ni和Pb超过了国家和国际安全人类消费准则规定的允许极限。PTE平均浓度的变化趋势显示出以下顺序：Cd <Pb <Co <Cr <Ni <Cu <Zn <Mn <Fe。由于总溶解固体（TDS）和PTE含量高，豪格利河的水质不适合人类直接饮用。评估的水质指数（WQI）值显示出明显的时空变化，表明水质状况非常恶劣，并且从上游到下游逐渐恶化。在夏季，季风和冬季，分别在Maushuni岛（S15），Petuaghat（S18）和Tapoban（S17）观察到最高的WQI值。但是，就PTE的危险度和危险指数值而言，无致癌性的人类健康风险表明，由于通过食入或皮肤途径从Hooghly河中暴露了PTE污染的水，对人类健康没有立即的不利影响。但是，儿童的这些风险值高于成人，因此有必要采用长期管理计划来应对潜在的人类健康风险。