Understanding groundwater quality and hydrogeochemical behavior is important because consumption of the potentially toxic elements (PTEs)-contaminated drinking water may induce several health problems for humans and animals. In the current study, we examined the potential groundwater contamination with various PTEs (arsenic, As; cadmium, Cd; copper, Cu; manganese; Mn) and the PTEs-induced health risk. Groundwater (n = 111) was characterized for total As, Cd, Cu, and Mn concentrations and other water quality attributes along the River Sutlej floodplain of Punjab, Pakistan. Results revealed that groundwater, which is used for drinking purpose, contained high concentrations of As and Cd (mean As: 33 µg/L, mean Cd: 3 µg/L), exceeding 100% and 32% than the World Health Organization’s safe limits (10 and 3 µg/L, respectively) in drinking water. The other water quality attributes (i.e., EC, HCO₃, Cl and SO₄) were also found above their safe limits in most of the wells. Hydrogeochemical data showed that groundwater was dominated with Na–SO4, Na–Cl, Ca/Mg–CO₃ type saline water. The hazard quotient and cancer risk indices values calculated for As and Cd indicated potential threat (carcinogenic risk > 0.0001 and non-carcinogenic risk > 1.0) of drinking groundwater in the study area. This study shows that the groundwater along River Sutlej floodplain poses a health threat to the communities relying on it for drinking and irrigation due to high concentrations of As and Cd in water. Moreover, it is important to monitor groundwater quality in the adjacent areas along River Sutlej floodplain and initiate suitable mitigation and remediation programs for the safety of people’s health in Punjab, Pakistan.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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巴基斯坦旁遮普省 Sutlej 河漫滩地下水中潜在有毒元素的水文地球化学和健康风险调查

了解地下水质量和水文地球化学行为很重要，因为饮用受潜在有毒元素 (PTE) 污染的饮用水可能会导致人类和动物出现多种健康问题。在当前的研究中，我们检查了各种 PTE（砷、As；镉、Cd；铜、Cu；锰；Mn）对地下水的潜在污染以及 PTE 引起的健康风险。地下水 ( n = 111) 表征了巴基斯坦旁遮普省 Sutlej 河漫滩沿岸的总 As、Cd、Cu 和 Mn 浓度以及其他水质属性。结果显示，用于饮用的地下水含有高浓度的砷和镉（平均砷：33微克/升，平均镉：3微克/升），超过世界卫生组织安全限值的100%和32% （分别为 10 和 3 µg/L）在饮用水中。在大多数井中也发现其他水质属性（即 EC、HCO ₃、Cl 和 SO ₄）高于其安全限值。水文地球化学数据显示地下水以Na-SO4、Na-Cl、Ca/Mg-CO _{3 为主}类型盐水。为 As 和 Cd 计算的危害商数和癌症风险指数值表明研究区饮用地下水存在潜在威胁（致癌风险 > 0.0001 和非致癌风险 > 1.0）。这项研究表明，Sutlej 河漫滩沿岸的地下水由于水中的砷和镉浓度很高，对依赖它进行饮用水和灌溉的社区构成了健康威胁。此外，重要的是监测 Sutlej 河泛滥平原附近地区的地下水质量，并启动适当的缓解和修复计划，以确保巴基斯坦旁遮普邦人民的健康安全。

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