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Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Groundwater of Industrial Township Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India

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Abstract

The present investigation deals with the health risk assessment due to the heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Co, Mn, Pb, Ni, and Zn) in groundwater in the industrial township of Virudhunagar district. Twenty groundwater samples were collected, and the measured concentration of the heavy metals follows the order Pb > Ni > Zn > Co > Cr > Cd > Cu > Mn. The metal pollution indices (heavy metal evaluation index, Heavy metal pollution index, degree of contamination) were calculated using the measured heavy metal concentrations. The samples collected nearer to the industrial zone have elevated concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Ni. The carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks were calculated based on the measured heavy metals concentration and average daily intake of water. The calculated carcinogenic risk values (5.66 × 10−3–1.56 × 10−2) (Pb, Cd, and Ni) exceed the acceptable limit of 10−6–10−4. The noncarcinogenic risk exceeds the acceptable limit of one for the heavy metals Pb and Cr. The higher carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risk values reveal that the study area has health risks due to Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr metals. Furthermore, factor analysis and cluster analysis showed that the industrial impact and wastage dumpsites are the prime sources for heavy metal contamination in groundwater of the study area.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Editor-in-chief for his valuable suggestions in improving the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Research Centre, National Engineering College, K.R. Nagar, Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, 628 503, India

    Velayutham Raja & Mallanpillai Anathakrishnan Neelakantan

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, National Engineering College, K.R.Nagar, Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, 628 503, India

    Ramamoorthy Venkada Lakshmi & Chelladurai Puthiya Sekar

  3. Water Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait City, 24885, Kuwait

    Sabarathinam Chidambaram

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  1. Velayutham Raja
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  2. Ramamoorthy Venkada Lakshmi
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  3. Chelladurai Puthiya Sekar
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  4. Sabarathinam Chidambaram
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Raja, V., Lakshmi, R.V., Sekar, C.P. et al. Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Groundwater of Industrial Township Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 80, 144–163 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00795-y

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