Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination of Groundwater in Rural Areas of Duhok City, Iraq
Received: 15 April 2024 | Revised: 30 April 2024 | Accepted: 20 May 2024 | Online: 2 August 2024
Corresponding author: Idrees Majeed Kareem
Abstract
This study investigates the quality of groundwater sources in the rural areas of Duhok City, Iraq, with a particular focus on heavy metal contamination, chemical composition, and properties of water. Water samples from 14 wells, serving as the main water source for the surrounding areas, were collected and analyzed. Water quality parameters including calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), chloride (Cl⁻), potassium (K⁺), and sulfate (SO₄²⁻) values ranged from 24 to 105.6 mg/L, 6.832 to 50.752 mg/L, 18 to 34 mg/L, 1 to 7 mg/L, and 3.4 to 38 mg/L respectively. Common heavy metals like manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and cobalt (Co) exhibited varying concentrations. Most parameters meet the WHO standards, except for the elevated potassium in one sample, requiring attention. Additionally, 50% of the sampled wells showed elevated cadmium (Cd) levels. Possible sources of contamination include industrial activities, agricultural runoff, and geological factors, highlighting the importance of ongoing monitoring and targeted interventions to ensure access to clean and safe water.
Keywords:
water quality, heavy metals, groundwater, pollution sources, public health, pollution sources, public healthDownloads
References
N. Akhtar, M. I. Syakir Ishak, S. A. Bhawani, and K. Umar, "Various Natural and Anthropogenic Factors Responsible for Water Quality Degradation: A Review," Water, vol. 13, no. 19, Jan. 2021, Art. no. 2660. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192660
W. M. Edmunds, "Geochemistry’s vital contribution to solving water resource problems," Applied Geochemistry, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 1058–1073, Jun. 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2009.02.021
M. A. Ayoub, N. A. Saleh, Mohamed, and A. Nossair, "Chemical Profile of Drinking Water of Broiler Farms in Beheira Province," Alexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 58–58, Oct. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5455/ajvs.262147
S. Madhav et al., "Water Pollutants: Sources and Impact on the Environment and Human Health," in Sensors in Water Pollutants Monitoring: Role of Material, D. Pooja, P. Kumar, P. Singh, and S. Patil, Eds. Singapore, Singapore: Springer, 2020, pp. 43–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0671-0_4
P. K. Gautam, R. Gautam, S. Banerjee, M. Chattopadhyaya, and J. Pandey, "Heavy metals in the environment: Fate, transport, toxicity and remediation technologies," in Heavy Metals: Sources, Toxicity and Remediation Techniques, 2016, pp. 101–130.
M. Mokarram, A. Saber, and V. Sheykhi, "Effects of heavy metal contamination on river water quality due to release of industrial effluents," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 277, Dec. 2020, Art. no. 123380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123380
B. U. Ukah, P. D. Ameh, J. C. Egbueri, C. O. Unigwe, and O. E. Ubido, "Impact of effluent-derived heavy metals on the groundwater quality in Ajao industrial area, Nigeria: an assessment using entropy water quality index (EWQI)," International Journal of Energy and Water Resources, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 231–244, Sep. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-020-00058-5
N. Khatri and S. Tyagi, "Influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on surface and groundwater quality in rural and urban areas," Frontiers in Life Science, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 23–39, Jan. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21553769.2014.933716
S. Sabater and K. Tockner, "Effects of Hydrologic Alterations on the Ecological Quality of River Ecosystems," in Water Scarcity in the Mediterranean: Perspectives Under Global Change, S. Sabater and D. Barceló, Eds. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2010, pp. 15–39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2009_24
I. M. Kareem and A. M. Ahmed, "Assessment of 222Radon Concentration and Annual Effective Dose in Drinking Water in Bardarash, Kurdistan Region of Iraq," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 12164–12168, Dec. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.6391
P. S. Murdoch, J. S. Baron, and T. L. Miller, "Potential Effects of Climate Change on Surface-Water Quality in North America1," JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 347–366, 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2000.tb04273.x
I. Delpla, A.-V. Jung, E. Baures, M. Clement, and O. Thomas, "Impacts of climate change on surface water quality in relation to drinking water production," Environment International, vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 1225–1233, Nov. 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2009.07.001
P. Zhang et al., "Water Quality Degradation Due to Heavy Metal Contamination: Health Impacts and Eco-Friendly Approaches for Heavy Metal Remediation," Toxics, vol. 11, no. 10, Oct. 2023, Art. no. 828. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11100828
M. Jin, H. Yuan, B. Liu, J. Peng, L. Xu, and D. Yang, "Review of the distribution and detection methods of heavy metals in the environment," Analytical Methods, vol. 12, no. 48, pp. 5747–5766, Dec. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0AY01577F
A. Baysal, N. Ozbek, and S. Akman, "Determination of trace metals in waste water and their removal processes," in Waste Water: Treatment Technologies and Recent Analytical Developments, L. Carlos and F. S. G. Einschlag, Eds. London, UK: IntechOpen, 2013, pp. 145–171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/52025
V. A. Musa, L. A. Abdulkareem, and O. M. Ali, "Experimental Study of the Two-Phase Flow Patterns of Air-Water Mixture at Vertical Bend Inlet and Outlet," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 4649–4653, Oct. 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.3022
I. M. Kareem, L. A. Abdulkareem, and H. I. Al-Barudi, "Surface and Deep Soil 222Rn Gas Exhalation Comparison: A Case Study in Tawke, Duhok, Northern Iraq," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 4741–4744, Oct. 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.3086
M. Balali-Mood, K. Naseri, Z. Tahergorabi, M. R. Khazdair, and M. Sadeghi, "Toxic Mechanisms of Five Heavy Metals: Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, and Arsenic," Frontiers in Pharmacology, vol. 12, Apr. 2021, Art. no. 643972. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.643972
K. K. Lawal et al., "A review on the public health implications of heavy metals," World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 255–265, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2021.10.3.0249
M. Jaishankar, T. Tseten, N. Anbalagan, B. B. Mathew, and K. N. Beeregowda, "Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals," Interdisciplinary Toxicology, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 60–72, Jun. 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/intox-2014-0009
Q. Niu, "Overview of the Relationship Between Aluminum Exposure and Health of Human Being," in Neurotoxicity of Aluminum, Q. Niu, Ed. Singapore, Singapore: Springer, 2018, pp. 1–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1370-7_1
Z. Khanam, F. M. Sultana, and F. Mushtaq, "Environmental Pollution Control Measures and Strategies: An Overview of Recent Developments," in Geospatial Analytics for Environmental Pollution Modeling: Analysis, Control and Management, F. Mushtaq, M. Farooq, A. B. Mukherjee, and M. Ghosh Nee Lala, Eds. New York, NY, USA: Springer, 2023, pp. 385–414. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45300-7_15
S. Mishra et al., "Heavy Metal Contamination: An Alarming Threat to Environment and Human Health," in Environmental Biotechnology: For Sustainable Future, R. C. Sobti, N. K. Arora, and R. Kothari, Eds. New York, NY, USA: Springer, 2019, pp. 103–125. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7284-0_5
S. Chowdhury, M. A. J. Mazumder, O. Al-Attas, and T. Husain, "Heavy metals in drinking water: Occurrences, implications, and future needs in developing countries," Science of The Total Environment, vol. 569–570, pp. 476–488, Nov. 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.166
C. Mohod and J. Dhote, "Review of heavy metals in drinking water and their effect on human health," International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, vol. 2, pp. 2992–2996, Jul. 2013.
V. Masindi and K. L. Muedi, "Environmental contamination by heavy metals," in Heavy Metals, H. E.-D. M. Saleh and R. Aglan, Eds. London, UK: IntechOpen, 2018, pp. 115–133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76082
A. Waseem, J. Arshad, F. Iqbal, A. Sajjad, Z. Mehmood, and G. Murtaza, "Pollution Status of Pakistan: A Retrospective Review on Heavy Metal Contamination of Water, Soil, and Vegetables," BioMed Research International, vol. 2014, Sep. 2014, Art. no. e813206. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/813206
S. Maxwell, "Rapid analysis of emergency urine and water samples," Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, vol. 275, no. 3, pp. 497–502, Oct. 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-007-7084-4
B. Sharma and S. Tyagi, "Simplification of Metal Ion Analysis in Fresh Water Samples by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy for Laboratory Students," Journal of Laboratory Chemical Education, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 54–58, 2013.
H. G. Gorchev and G. Ozolins, "WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality," WHO chronicle, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 104–108, Jan. 1984.
E. W. Rice, R. B. Baird, A. D. Eaton, and L. S. Clesceri, Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Washington, DC, USA: American Public Health Association, 2012.
WHO, Water safety in distribution systems. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2014.
A. Kubier, R. T. Wilkin, and T. Pichler, "Cadmium in soils and groundwater: A review," Applied Geochemistry, vol. 108, Sep. 2019, Art. no. 104388. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.104388
W. M. A.-S. Khalifa, B. Achour, T. Butt, C. Mirza, H. Salah, and S. El-Didy, "The Impact of Injection/Pumping Wells on the Pollution Transport in Groundwater," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 12918–12924, Feb. 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.6458
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Idrees Majeed Kareem Artoshi, Sarmad Salim, Rangeen Mohammed
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
