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Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Human Health Risk in the Aeolian-Sand Area of Yulin City, Northwest China

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Abstract

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water in arid areas and groundwater quality can affect human health. In the present study, 42 groundwater samples were collected from the aeolian-sand area of Yulin City, Northwest China, to better understand the groundwater quality for drinking purpose. The water quality index (WQI) was employed to evaluate the groundwater quality, and the associated human health risk was assessed using the assessment models proposed by USEPA for infants, children, and adults. The results showed that the groundwater was slightly alkaline, soft, and fresh water in the study area. The main anion and cation were Ca2+ and HCO3−, respectively, and the main processes controlling the groundwater quality were the dissolution of silicate minerals and cation exchange. NO3− concentration ranged from 0.50 to 98.00 mg/L, with a mean value of 19.13 mg/L. Among the 42 samples, 15 groundwater samples had high NO3− concentration exceeding the acceptable limit (20 mg/L) prescribed by the standard for groundwater quality of China for drinking purpose. In addition, WQI ranged from 5.5 to 132.5, indicating significant variation in water quality in the study area. Most of the groundwater samples (90.5%) were in the categories of excellent to good water for drinking purpose. Moreover, the non-carcinogenic risk of Hazard Quotient (NCHQ) for infants, children, and adults ranged from 0.0136 to 2.6630, 0.0130 to 2.5548, and from 0.0125 to 2.4500, respectively. The order of the NCHQ was infants > children > adults. The areas with high WQI and NCHQ were situated in the agricultural region, where the groundwater was polluted by nitrate due to excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers and large amount of untreated excreta of animals. These results would be helpful to establish reasonable management strategies for sustainable groundwater quality protection.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by Tiandi Science and Technology Co. Ltd. Science and Technology Innovation Venture Capital Special Project (Grant No. 2018-TD-MS073), the State Key Laboratory of Water Resource Protection and Utilization in coal mining (Grant No. SHJT-16-30.10), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41907264). The authors would like to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their critical comments and suggestions which greatly helped us to the improvement of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Coal Research Institute, Beijing, 100013, China

    Ji Liu, Dewu Jin & Tiantian Wang

  2. Xi’an Research Institute of China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Ji Liu, Dewu Jin, Tiantian Wang & Jian Yang

  3. Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Water Hazard Prevention and Control Technology in Shaanxi Province, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Ji Liu, Dewu Jin, Tiantian Wang & Jian Yang

  4. Zhongsheng Environmental Technology Development Co. Ltd., Xi’an, 710065, Shaanxi, China

    Min Gao

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  1. Ji Liu
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Liu, J., Gao, M., Jin, D. et al. Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Human Health Risk in the Aeolian-Sand Area of Yulin City, Northwest China. Expo Health 12, 671–680 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-019-00326-8

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