Exposure of children to arsenic in drinking water in the Tharparkar region of Sindh, Pakistan

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2016-02, Vol.544, p.653-660
• Main Authors: Brahman, Kapil Dev, Kazi, Tasneem Gul, Afridi, Hassan Imran, Baig, Jameel Ahmed, Arain, Sadaf Sadia, Talpur, Farah Naz, Kazi, Atif Gul, Ali, Jamshed, Panhwar, Abdul Haleem, Arain, Muhammad Balal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Arsenic - analysis; Arsenic Poisoning - epidemiology; Arsenic toxicity; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Drinking water; Drinking Water - chemistry; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Environmental Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Hair - chemistry; Hazard quotient; Humans; Male; Pakistan - epidemiology; Risk Assessment; Scalp hair; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.152

Humans can be exposed to arsenic (As) through air, drinking water, and food. The aim of this study was to calculate the hazard quotient (HQ) of As, based on its concentration in drinking water and the scalp hair of children (males) belonging to two age groups (5–10 and 11–14years) who consumed water contaminated with different concentrations of As. The water samples were collected from As-exposed and nonexposed areas, which were classified as low-exposed (LE), high-exposed (HE), and nonexposed (NE) areas. The total concentration of inorganic As (iAs) and its species (AsIII and AsV) in water samples of all selected areas was determined by advanced extraction methods. For purposes of comparison, the total As level was also determined in all water samples. The resulting data indicated that the predominant inorganic As species in groundwater samples was arsenate (AsV). The As concentrations in drinking water of LE and HE areas were found to be 2.6–230-fold higher than the permissible limit for drinking water established by the World Health Organization (2004). However, the As levels in drinking water of the NE area was within the permissible limit (0.01). The As toxicity risk assessment based on HQ for the NE, LE, and HE areas corresponded to 10, respectively. These HQ values indicated the noncarcinogenic, less carcinogenic, and highly carcinogenic exposure risks faced by children from the NE, LE, and HE areas, respectively. It can be concluded that children consuming the groundwater of the LE (Khairpur Mir's) and HE (Tharparkar) areas of Pakistan are at a potential risk of chronic As toxicity. [Display omitted] •Children are at a high risk of arsenic exposure via contaminated drinking water.•The exposure of As via drinking water is a more accurate index of its toxic exposure.•The symptoms of arsenicosis are more severe in elder children than younger children.