Human exposure risk to heavy metals through groundwater used for drinking in an intensively irrigated river delta

• Published in: Applied water science 2017-10, Vol.7 (6), p.3267-3280
• Main Authors: Vetrimurugan, E., Brindha, K., Elango, L., Ndwandwe, Osman Muzi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Agricultural land; Agricultural wastes; Agrochemicals; Aluminium; Aluminum; Aquatic Pollution; Boron; Cadmium; Carcinogens; Chemical analysis; Children; Chromium; Coastal aquifers; Cobalt; Comparative Law; Copper; Drinking behavior; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Exposure; Fertilizer application; Fertilizers; Groundwater; Groundwater quality; Health hazards; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Heavy metals; Hydrogeology; Industrial and Production Engineering; Industry; Infants; Ingestion; International & Foreign Law; Intrusion; Iron; Lithium; Manganese; Metal concentrations; Metals; Nanotechnology; Nickel; Original Article; Pollution index; Private International Law; Risk; River basins; Rivers; Seawater; Silver; Surface water; Surface-groundwater relations; Waste Water Technology; Wastewater; Water analysis; Water Industry/Water Technologies; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water quality; Water quality standards; Water sampling; Zinc; Zirconium
• ISSN: 2190-5487; 2190-5495
• DOI: 10.1007/s13201-016-0472-6

Drinking water containing heavy metals above the maximum permissible limits cause potential risk to human health. The aim of this study was to determine the groundwater suitability for drinking use based on heavy metal concentration and the associated human exposure risk in an intensively irrigated part of the Cauvery river basin, Tamil Nadu, India. Sixteen heavy metals analysed were in the order of dominance of chromium