Assessment of Heavy metal pollution and its health implications in groundwater for drinking purpose around inactive mines, SW region of Cuddapah Basin, South India

Abstract

Trace metal leachate comes from inactive mine reservoirs in the study area. The main intention of the study was to analyze the metal content in groundwater samples around inactive mines in the southwest of the Cuddapah Basin and to assess the risk to the local habitants based on calculations using several statistical methods. In this context, the study emphasizes the use of an integrated heavy metal pollution approach, ecological risk assessment incorporating potential health risks, and a multivariate statistical approach at an inactive mining site in the southwestern Cuddapah Basin in southern India. In 2019, we collected 100 samples from bore wells in both pre & post monsoon seasons and ten heavy metals (As, Co, Cd, Fe, Cr, Ni, Mn, Pb, Zn, and Sr) were analyzed using an Agilent 725 ICP-OES instrument. The results showed that As (0–60.5 and 0–56.3 µg/L), Cd (0–28.1 and 0–31.1 µg/L), Ni (0–110.2 and 0–99 µg/L), Pb (0––175.6 and 0–92.3), Sr concentration (0–1150 and 0–1440 μg/L) exceeded permissible values ​​in both seasons. Heavy metal pollution index (HPI), heavy metal evolution index HEI, and pollution degree DOC are used to evaluate the metal pollution of drinking water in this area. As per the HPI values, 17.5 % and 10% of samples show a high pollution index; as per the classes of HEI, 95 % and 100% of samples show a low pollution class during both seasons. According to DOC, all groundwater samples fall in the low contamination zone. As per ecological risk classification, 90% of the samples cause extreme to high ecological risk in both seasons in the study area. From the perspective of health risk assessment, both adults and children have non-carcinogenic effects in the study area; and adequate remedial procedures or treatments are required to avoid metal pollution of groundwater.m.