Environmental Monitoring and Assessment最新文献

{"title":"Assessing changes in runoff–sediment response in a restored Loess Plateau watershed using long-term monitoring","authors":"Qiangqiang Xu,&nbsp;Xiangxiang Hu,&nbsp;Yaya Shi","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16098-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16098-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Long-term environmental monitoring provides a basis for detecting changes in runoff-sediment relationships in restored watersheds. Using 35 years of outlet runoff-sediment observations from the Luoyugou catchment, together with daily sediment records, flood-event data, rainfall indices and MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), we assessed nonstationarity through annual indicators, stage-varying sediment rating curves, discharge-stratified comparisons, sediment-response breakpoints, effective discharge, quantile regression, event-scale evidence and robustness tests. Annual runoff depth showed no monotonic decline, whereas sediment yield and sediment efficiency decreased markedly after 2010. Median sediment efficiency declined from 193.7 kg m⁻³ in 1990–1999 to 50.5 kg m⁻³ in 2011–2024. Daily rating curves shifted downward, with the exponent decreasing from 2.026 to 1.521 and predicted sediment discharge at Q = 0.5 m³ s⁻¹ declining by 49.3%. Within shared discharge support, year-clustered regressions estimated recent-period reductions of 55.4% and 57.4% in the high and very-high flow classes, respectively. Event-scale models also showed lower sediment loads after controlling for event runoff, rainfall amount and rainfall intensity. Together, these patterns are consistent with increasing sediment-supply limitation at the catchment outlet. The study demonstrates how long-term monitoring can diagnose changes in hydro-sediment response and guide targeted process investigations in restored dryland watersheds.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149293815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated environmental assessment of plastic pollution in the São Francisco River estuary, Brazil","authors":"Isabella Ferreira Nascimento Maynard,&nbsp;Pamela Cunha Bortoluzzi,&nbsp;Thigna Carvalho Batista,&nbsp;Rosa Cecília Santos,&nbsp;Juliana Cordeiro Cardoso,&nbsp;Rubens Riscala Madi,&nbsp;Eliane Bezerra Cavalcanti,&nbsp;Verônica de Lourdes Sierpe Jeraldo,&nbsp;Maria Nogueira Marques","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16107-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16107-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Plastic pollution has emerged as a major environmental concern due to its persistence, fragmentation, and capacity to release chemical additives into aquatic systems. Estuaries are particularly vulnerable, functioning simultaneously as accumulation zones and transfer pathways for plastic debris and associated contaminants. This study provides a combined assessment of macroplastics, microplastics, and plasticizers (bisphenol A – BPA and dibutyl phthalate – DBP) in the São Francisco River estuary, northeastern Brazil. Surface water and sandy sediment samples were collected at four sites, including urban areas and locations near Conservation Units. Plastic debris was quantified and characterized, while BPA and DBP were determined as chemical markers of plastic pollution. BPA was detected in 100% of water samples and DBP in 67%, with the highest concentrations recorded in the urbanized site of Propriá (BPA: 0.72 mg · L⁻¹; DBP: 2.27 mg · L⁻¹). The highest quantities of microplastics in the water were recorded in Santana de São Francisco (0.49 items/m³) and in the sandy sediment in Pacatuba (22,80 items/m²), with a predominance of white fragments. Macroplastics showed a progressive increase in Pacatuba, totaling 2457 g. The results highlight urban influence and the estuary’s role as a retention and transfer zone for plastic pollutants. The study employed multiple methodologies to analyze plastic pollution across scales, providing novel data for environmental monitoring in estuaries and Conservation Units. Findings reinforce the need for policies to reduce plastic use, improve sanitation, and promote environmental education, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals 6, 12, and 14.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13719833/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149293777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determination of pesticide residues, nitrate, and some heavy metal in green vegetables from Turkey’s Konya Province","authors":"Fatma Füsun Küçükapan,&nbsp;Nizam Mustafa Nizamlıoğlu","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16108-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16108-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Arugula, purslane, parsley, dill, green onion, cress, and lettuce consumed raw were collected in August 2021 (summer) and March 2022 (winter) from local producers in Konya Province, Turkey (n = 294), to determine contamination profiles of nitrates, toxic trace elements (Pb, Cd, As, Hg, Sn), and 31 pesticide residues. Fixed-effects factorial analysis revealed significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) in mean concentrations between seasons and vegetable types: summer samples exhibited higher mean lead (0.050 mg/kg) and arsenic (0.054 mg/kg), whereas winter vegetables had higher mean nitrate (2446.88 mg/kg) and cadmium (0.011 mg/kg). Pesticide residues were detected in 68% of summer and 48% of winter samples. Active substances detected were dominated by insecticides (38.1% summer, 47% winter) and fungicides (33.3% summer, 53% winter). Acetamiprid exceeded maximum residues limits (MRLs) across multiple commodities, including summer parsley, arugula, green onions, and cress, as well as winter purslane and dill. Banned agrochemicals, including chlorpyrifos and acetochlor, were also detected in isolated samples. In contrast, nested variance decomposition demonstrated that producer-level practices accounted for the vast majority of variation (58.46%–99.93% for pesticides; 34.50%–90.56% for heavy metals/nitrate), rendering season statistically non-significant (p &gt; 0.05) as an isolated variance component. Principal component analysis corroborated these distributions, isolating cress, arugula, purslane, and winter dill based on residues loading. Agricultural practices among individual producers are the primary driver of contamination risks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149284636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Domestic and wild animals as sentinels for environmental monitoring of emerging contaminants: a One Health framework for biomonitoring and human exposure assessment","authors":"Domenico Britti","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16026-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16026-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Emerging contaminants are increasingly detected across environmental, domestic, agricultural and food-chain matrices, where low-dose chronic exposure, mixtures, and delayed toxicological outcomes challenge conventional human-centred surveillance. This critical narrative review and monitoring-framework article uses structured keyword selection and literature mapping informed by SANRA quality criteria to integrate evidence on companion animals, livestock and wildlife as sentinels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), endocrine disruptors, micro- and nanoplastics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and food-chain contaminants. Companion animals can support reconstruction of shared indoor and lifestyle exposures; livestock can identify contamination at the interface between feed, water, soil, and animal-derived foods; and wildlife can integrate ecosystem, trophic, and landscape-level exposure. The proposed framework outlines monitoring modules, normalization considerations, biospecimen-banking options, and tiered operational triggers connecting sentinel detection to environmental verification and targeted human biomonitoring. Two application models—a hypothetical localized PFAS plume involving waterfowl and dairy cattle and an evidence-informed Arctic sled dog model for chronic long-range transported mixtures—illustrate how animal signals can support exposure reconstruction, hotspot identification, and public-health prioritization. Animal sentinel evidence should be interpreted as early warning and triangulating evidence, not as stand-alone proof of human health risk.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149284609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterizing statistical association patterns and local forecasting of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Nagoya, Japan","authors":"Minyi Wang,&nbsp;Takeshi Ohura,&nbsp;Vonika Ka-Man Au,&nbsp;Nozomu Tsuchiya,&nbsp;Takayuki Kameda","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16083-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16083-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study developed an integrated pollutant–meteorology–polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) statistical framework using association rule mining and machine learning to characterize the hourly variability of PAHs bound to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in Nagoya, Japan. Association rules identified recurring pollutant–meteorology co-occurrence patterns linked to PAH accumulation, while machine learning models, evaluated via time-blocked cross-validation to avoid leakage from hourly autocorrelation, enabled short-term prediction. Ambient pollutants showed pronounced diurnal patterns, with black carbon and nitrogen oxides peaking during traffic rush hours and photochemical oxidants peaking in the afternoon. Reduced wind speed was the most consistent statistical condition associated with elevated PAH levels, whereas pressure, humidity, and temperature were associated with atmospheric conditions favorable to pollutant accumulation, such as reduced dispersion. Rule structures further revealed shared meteorological patterns and compound-specific association patterns across PAH species. Among the predictive models, eXtreme Gradient Boosting and Random Forest achieved the best performance for high-molecular-weight PAHs (R² = 0.81–0.93, RMSE = 0.02–0.11, MAE = 0.01–0.06), whereas Support Vector Regression and Multilayer Perceptron performed poorly. Pressure, temperature, and humidity dominated feature importance, consistent with the association rule findings. The health-risk assessment showed that benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) dominated carcinogenic toxicity, while estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk values for all population subgroups remained below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency negligible-risk threshold. Because the identified associations reflect statistical covariation within a limited 10-day observation period, they should be interpreted as site-specific descriptors for local forecasting rather than as evidence of universal atmospheric mechanisms.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149284607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revealing the impacts of land use and landscape patterns on water quality at different slopes in the Tumen River basin, China","authors":"Tianqi Jia,&nbsp;Wei Wu,&nbsp;Yunyi Wang,&nbsp;Linxuan Li,&nbsp;Yuyue Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16110-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16110-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Water quality plays a crucial role in human life and ecological environment maintenance. Existing studies have confirmed that land use and landscape patterns exert significant impacts on water quality, with their interactive effects varying markedly across different buffer zones and slope grades. Based on water sampling at 284 sites in the Tumen River basin, the study aimed to identify the optimal buffer zones for water quality under different slopes. The effects of land use and landscape patterns on individual water quality indicators across five slope grades and riparian buffer zones were then revealed via multiple linear regression and random forest–recursive feature elimination models. In the Tumen River basin, the optimal buffer zone is relatively small (50 m) in gentle slope areas, where water quality is mainly affected by landscape patterns. By contrast, steep slope areas tend to require a relatively larger optimal buffer zone (1500 m), in which land use is the primary factor influencing water quality. Dissolved oxygen responds weakly to slope variation and varies significantly within small buffer zones, affected by landscape patterns. Electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen (TN), and permanganate index (COD_Mn) are more sensitive to slope changes. EC is primarily controlled by land use, whereas COD_Mn and TN are controlled by landscape patterns. The findings of this study provide a theoretical basis and practical support for the sustainable use of land resources and the improvement of water quality in the Tumen River basin.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149284565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Severe environmental disturbances compromise ecological thresholds in aquatic environments","authors":"Gisele Daiane Pinha,&nbsp;Beatrice Padovani Ferreira,&nbsp;Fabiana de Matos Costa,&nbsp;Fabio Cavalca Bom,&nbsp;KyssyanneSamihra Santos Oliveira,&nbsp;Maikon Di Domenico,&nbsp;Manuela Santos Santana,&nbsp;Nelson de Almeida Gouveia,&nbsp;Alessandra Delazari,&nbsp;Alex Cardoso Bastos,&nbsp;Daniel Rigo,&nbsp;Elisabeth Henschel,&nbsp;Eneida Maria Eskinazi-Sant’Anna,&nbsp;Fabian Sá,&nbsp;Gilberto Fonseca Barroso,&nbsp;Jorge Abdala Dergam,&nbsp;Leila de Lourdes Longo,&nbsp;Luiz Fernando Loureiro Fernandes,&nbsp;Mauricio Hostim-Silva,&nbsp;Renato David Ghisolfi,&nbsp;Renato Rodrigues Neto,&nbsp;Stéfano Zorzal-Almeida,&nbsp;Valéria da Silva Quaresma,&nbsp;Vânya Marcia Duarte Pasa,&nbsp;Nadson Ressyé Simões","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16090-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16090-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Large-scale disturbances can profoundly alter aquatic ecosystems by modifying water chemistry, sediment dynamics, and biodiversity across connected freshwater and marine environments. The 2015 Fundão Dam collapse in Brazil provides an unprecedented context to evaluate how multiple aquatic communities respond to intense and prolonged contamination, revealing key mechanisms of community reorganization under chronic anthropogenic impacts. By a multi-taxa monitoring dataset collected from 62 freshwater and marine sites, we analyzed how different communities, comprising phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, and fish, responded along a gradient of mining tailing exposure. Applying threshold indicator taxa analysis (TITAN), we identified critical environmental variables, capturing tipping points for positive and negative biotic responses to tailing-related environmental gradients. Our results showed that mining-related contaminants, combined with hydrogeochemical alterations triggered by the dam collapse, have driven long-term changes in biodiversity, reshaping ecosystem functioning. The same stressors that caused widespread negative responses in community structure also promoted localized increases in opportunistic, mainly planktonic taxa, indicating a multidirectional community reorganization. In general, small increases in metals and hydrogeochemical alterations (such as turbidity up to 17 NTU in riverine systems and 2 NTU in the marine sites), resulting from the dam collapse have driven persistent changes in biodiversity, ultimately reshaping ecosystem functioning. Integrating community-level thresholds should represent a critical approach to improve the detection of regime shifts and to support the development of habitat-specific recovery strategies for riverine and marine ecosystems affected by mining disturbances.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10661-026-16090-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149260342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Citizen science data as a tool for monitoring moss diversity in Poland: potential and limitations","authors":"Mikołaj Latoszewski,&nbsp;Paweł Świsłowski,&nbsp;Małgorzata Rajfur,&nbsp;Grzegorz J. Wolski","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16092-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16092-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, the potential and limitations of iNaturalist for monitoring mosses in Poland (2019–2025) were assessed using 17,451 verified “Research Grade” records. Rarefaction enabled diversity pattern analysis while accounting for sampling effort differences. Observational activity peaked in early-spring (March) and autumn (October). Analysis revealed extreme asymmetry in research effort (<i>G</i>_users = 0.89): the 12 most active users contributed 65.5% of national records, creating a “super-user effect.” Rarefaction corrected this bias, identifying the Pomeranian Voivodeship as having the highest standardized diversity (<i>S</i>_rar = 80.9). Citizen science effectively supports specific moss monitoring aspects. Observers documented 151 unique records of the alien moss <i>Campylopus introflexus</i>, representing over 60% of sites recorded during 30 years of traditional floristic research. Despite the “microscope barrier” restricting the database largely to visually identifiable bryophytes (e.g., reducing nearly the entire genus <i>Hypnum</i> to <i>H</i>. <i>cupressiforme</i>; <i>G</i>_taxa = 0.76), iNaturalist serves as a crucial early-warning system. Ultimately, large-scale citizen scientists datasets provide valuable guidance for identifying priority areas for future bryological research.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13710573/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149260344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Baseline assessment of potentially toxic elements in commercially important fish species from the coastal waters of Sur, Sultanate of Oman: tissue distribution and human health risk assessment","authors":"Marwa Al Alawi,&nbsp;Marwa Al Farsi,&nbsp;Hamda Al Wahibi,&nbsp;S. D. Premkumar Samuel,&nbsp;Aysha Hadid Alalwiya,&nbsp;Nouf Rashid Al Muhaijri,&nbsp;Hamad Saeed Ali Al Jafaari,&nbsp;Ashraf Fathy Labib Faltas,&nbsp;Magapu Solomon Sudhakar","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16106-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16106-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Commercially important fish from the Sur coastal fishery, Sultanate of Oman, have not previously been subject to comprehensive characterisation for potentially toxic elements (PTEs). The present study quantifies ten PTEs across multiple tissues in five species — pharaoh cuttlefish, Indian mackerel, narrow-barred kingfish, Indian oil sardine and longtail tuna — by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, across three independent laboratories, one ISO/IEC 17025:2017-accredited (<i>n =</i> 535 determinations). Mercury was below detection in 87.9% of determinations. All detected values in the five focal species complied with EU 2023/915 maximum levels. Cadmium showed a tissue accumulation gradient (liver ≈ kidney &gt;&gt; gill ≈ muscle, liver <i>n =</i> 3; Kruskal–Wallis H = 25.15, <i>p =</i> 1.44 × 10⁻⁵), consistent with metallothionein-mediated sequestration in an upwelling-influenced system. Lead was undetected in commercial muscle, but two goatfish composites exceeded the EU lead maximum level (0.327 against 0.300 mg/kg), attributed to sediment exposure in benthic feeders. Applying the EPA IRIS 2025 oral reference dose for inorganic arsenic (6 × 10⁻⁵ mg/kg-day) and a precautionary 10% inorganic fraction, Hazard Index values ranged from 0.96 (mackerel) to 7.28 (cuttlefish), exceeding 1.0 in four of five species; three still exceeded 1.0 at the 4% fraction recommended by US EPA guidance. All five exceeded the carcinogenic risk threshold (1 × 10⁻⁴) under the revised cancer slope factor (32 per mg/kg-day), robust across the published range of inorganic fractions. These results constitute the first quantitative baseline for the Ash Sharqiyah coast, and designate arsenic speciation as the primary research priority.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><p>Prepared at 174 mm width and 600 dpi in RGB with sans-serif lettering, in accordance with the journal's artwork specifications. Exceedances are indicated by hatching as well as by colour and the tissue ramp is ordered by lightness, so the figure remains legible in greyscale and to colour-blind readers.</p><p><i>Baseline assessment of potentially toxic elements in commercially important fish species from the coastal waters of Sur, Sultanate of Oman: tissue distribution and human health risk assessment</i></p><p> Environmental Monitoring and Assessment  |  Submission ID a4cc3f2b-7bd8-44b0-8f8d-2255ea3d8f6c</p>\u0000<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149260285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water quality evaluation in Dalbandin, an arid region of Balochistan: integrated geochemical and health risk assessment","authors":"Mohammad Faheem,&nbsp;Nizam Baloch,&nbsp;Samar Ali,&nbsp;Muhammad Adnan Afridi,&nbsp;Nazia Mir,&nbsp;Murad Bibi,&nbsp;Sadaf Ashraf","doi":"10.1007/s10661-026-16113-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10661-026-16113-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study provides the first comprehensive hydrochemical and health risk assessment of groundwater in Dalbandin, which is an arid, mineral-rich area of Balochistan, Pakistan. Fifty groundwater samples (T1–T50) were collected from inhabited and agricultural zones and analyzed for physicochemical parameters (pH, EC, TDS) and heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Na, Ca, Mg, HCO₃, Cl, SO₄) using atomic absorption spectroscopy and portable meters. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) resolved four partially resolved statistical sources: (1) an Mn-rich pattern, (2) a Pb-Cd-Cu-rich pattern, (3) a mixed sulfate–major-ion pattern, and (4) a Na-Cl-Ca-rich salinity pattern. PCA and APCS-MLR gave some support but were not as successful at separating sources as PMF. All heavy metals exceeded WHO drinking water guidelines, with Pb (mean: 0.16 mg/L, 16 × limit), Cd (mean: 0.03 mg/L, 10 × limit), Cu (mean: 4.39 mg/L, 2 × limit), Mn (mean: 0.29 mg/L, 3 × limit), and Cr (mean: 0.16 mg/L, 3 × limit) being of particular concern. All the samples were found to be \"Unsafe\" (mean 1,115.7) using the Drinking Water Quality Index (DWQI), and 74% of samples were found to be in moderate to high restriction zone using the Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI). Modeled risk assessment (total Cr conservatively assumed to be Cr(VI)) showed HI &gt; 1 and TCR &gt; 10⁻⁴ in all samples. The 3.5-fold child/adult difference applied to HI, not TCR. Monte Carlo simulation, 100% of simulated values exceeded the screening thresholds under the assumed inputs; this is a model result and not a probability of disease, with mean values of HI_Adult = 9.74, HI_Child = 34.08, TCR_Adult = 1.12 × 10⁻³, and TCR_Child = 7.86 × 10⁻⁴. These results indicate potentially significant public health risks that warrant confirmatory monitoring and risk-management attention in this geogenically contaminated area. The integrated approach illustrates the benefits of integrating a receptor model with a probabilistic health risk assessment in guiding groundwater management in areas with mineral resources in arid areas.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":544,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","volume":"198 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149260358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}