Identification of the Groundwater Quality and Potential Noncarcinogenic Health Risk Assessment of Nitrate in the Groundwater of El Milia Plain, Kebir Rhumel Basin, Algeria

IF 3.1 Q2 WATER RESOURCES

Hydrology Pub Date : 2023-08-14 DOI:10.3390/hydrology10080171

Djouhaina Brella, Lazhar Belkhiri, Ammar Tiri, Hichem Salhi, Fatma Elhadj Lakouas, Razki Nouibet, Adeltif Amrane, Ryma Merdoud, L. Mouni

{"title":"Identification of the Groundwater Quality and Potential Noncarcinogenic Health Risk Assessment of Nitrate in the Groundwater of El Milia Plain, Kebir Rhumel Basin, Algeria","authors":"Djouhaina Brella, Lazhar Belkhiri, Ammar Tiri, Hichem Salhi, Fatma Elhadj Lakouas, Razki Nouibet, Adeltif Amrane, Ryma Merdoud, L. Mouni","doi":"10.3390/hydrology10080171","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we analyzed the quality and the potential noncarcinogenic health risk of nitrate in groundwater in the El Milia plain, Kebir Rhumel Basin, Algeria. Moran’s I and the ordinary kriging (OK) interpolation technique were used to examine the spatial distribution pattern of the hydrochemical parameters in the groundwater. It was found that the hydrochemical parameters Ca, Cl, and HCO3 showed strong spatial autocorrelation in the El Milia plain, indicating a spatial dependence and clustering of these parameters in the groundwater. The groundwater quality was evaluated using the entropy water quality index (EWQI). The results showed that approximately 86% of the total groundwater samples in the study area fall within the moderate groundwater quality category. The spatial map of the EWQI values indicated an increasing trend from the south-west to the northeast, following the direction of groundwater flow. The highest EWQI values were observed near El Milia city in the center of the plain. This spatial pattern suggests variations in groundwater quality across the study area, with potentially higher risks near the city center. The potential noncarcinogenic health risks associated with nitrate contamination in groundwater for adults and children through the drinking water pathway were assessed using the hazard quotient (HQ). The results revealed that approximately 5.7% of the total groundwater samples exceeded the HQ limit for adults, indicating potential health risks. Moreover, a higher percentage, 14.28%, of the total groundwater samples exceeded the HQ limit for children, highlighting their increased vulnerability to noncarcinogenic health hazards associated with nitrate contamination in the study area. Taking timely action and ensuring strict compliance with regulations in groundwater management are crucial for protecting public health, preserving the environment, addressing water scarcity, and achieving sustainable development goals.","PeriodicalId":37372,"journal":{"name":"Hydrology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Hydrology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology10080171","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"WATER RESOURCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 2

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the quality and the potential noncarcinogenic health risk of nitrate in groundwater in the El Milia plain, Kebir Rhumel Basin, Algeria. Moran’s I and the ordinary kriging (OK) interpolation technique were used to examine the spatial distribution pattern of the hydrochemical parameters in the groundwater. It was found that the hydrochemical parameters Ca, Cl, and HCO3 showed strong spatial autocorrelation in the El Milia plain, indicating a spatial dependence and clustering of these parameters in the groundwater. The groundwater quality was evaluated using the entropy water quality index (EWQI). The results showed that approximately 86% of the total groundwater samples in the study area fall within the moderate groundwater quality category. The spatial map of the EWQI values indicated an increasing trend from the south-west to the northeast, following the direction of groundwater flow. The highest EWQI values were observed near El Milia city in the center of the plain. This spatial pattern suggests variations in groundwater quality across the study area, with potentially higher risks near the city center. The potential noncarcinogenic health risks associated with nitrate contamination in groundwater for adults and children through the drinking water pathway were assessed using the hazard quotient (HQ). The results revealed that approximately 5.7% of the total groundwater samples exceeded the HQ limit for adults, indicating potential health risks. Moreover, a higher percentage, 14.28%, of the total groundwater samples exceeded the HQ limit for children, highlighting their increased vulnerability to noncarcinogenic health hazards associated with nitrate contamination in the study area. Taking timely action and ensuring strict compliance with regulations in groundwater management are crucial for protecting public health, preserving the environment, addressing water scarcity, and achieving sustainable development goals.

查看原文本刊更多论文

阿尔及利亚Kebir Rhumel盆地El Milia平原地下水水质鉴定及硝酸盐潜在非致癌健康风险评价

在这项研究中，我们分析了阿尔及利亚Kebir-Rhumel盆地El Milia平原地下水中硝酸盐的质量和潜在的非致癌健康风险。采用Moran’s I和普通克里格插值技术研究了地下水水化学参数的空间分布规律。研究发现，El Milia平原的水化学参数Ca、Cl和HCO3表现出较强的空间自相关性，表明这些参数在地下水中具有空间相关性和聚集性。采用熵水质指数（EWQI）对地下水水质进行评价。结果表明，研究区域内约86%的地下水样本属于中等地下水质量类别。EWQI值的空间图表明，随着地下水流动的方向，EWQI值从西南向东北呈增加趋势。EWQI最高值出现在平原中心的El Milia市附近。这种空间模式表明，整个研究区域的地下水质量存在差异，市中心附近的风险可能更高。使用危险商（HQ）评估了通过饮用水途径与地下水中硝酸盐污染相关的成人和儿童潜在的非致癌健康风险。结果显示，大约5.7%的地下水样本超过了成年人的HQ限值，这表明存在潜在的健康风险。此外，地下水总样本中有14.28%的比例超过了儿童的HQ限值，这突出表明他们在研究区域更容易受到与硝酸盐污染相关的非致癌健康危害。及时采取行动并确保严格遵守地下水管理法规，对于保护公众健康、保护环境、解决缺水问题和实现可持续发展目标至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Hydrology Earth and Planetary Sciences-Earth-Surface Processes

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

21.90%

发文量

192

审稿时长

6 weeks

期刊介绍： Journal of Hydrology publishes original research papers and comprehensive reviews in all the subfields of the hydrological sciences, including water based management and policy issues that impact on economics and society. These comprise, but are not limited to the physical, chemical, biogeochemical, stochastic and systems aspects of surface and groundwater hydrology, hydrometeorology, hydrogeology and hydrogeophysics. Relevant topics incorporating the insights and methodologies of disciplines such as climatology, water resource systems, ecohydrology, geomorphology, soil science, instrumentation and remote sensing, data and information sciences, civil and environmental engineering are within scope. Social science perspectives on hydrological problems such as resource and ecological economics, sociology, psychology and behavioural science, management and policy analysis are also invited. Multi-and interdisciplinary analyses of hydrological problems are within scope. The science published in the Journal of Hydrology is relevant to catchment scales rather than exclusively to a local scale or site. Studies focused on urban hydrological issues are included.