Heavy Metals, Pesticide, Plasticizers Contamination and Risk Analysis of Drinking Water Quality in the Newly Developed Housing Societies of Gujranwala, Pakistan

Abstract

The supply of clean drinking water is essential for a healthy life, but access to safe and healthy drinking water has become a key issue worldwide, especially in developing nations such as Pakistan. This research work focused on investigating the suitability of groundwater by measuring quality parameters, identification of pesticide pollutants, and health risk analysis in adults and children due to the consumption of groundwater in recently developed housing societies of the Gujranwala district, Punjab, Pakistan. Drinking water samples (n = 200) were collected from electric water pumps and analyzed by in situ testings following the Standard American Public Health Association (APHA) methods. Pesticides and plasticizers detection was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results showed that the concentrations of dissolved Cr and Pb at more than 20% of sampling sites exceeded the allowable limit of the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the measured physico-chemical attributes and concentrations of Fe and Zn did not exceed their respective permissible limits. The most abundant pollutants detected were plasticizers (30); followed by herbicides (21); fungicides, acaricides, and insecticides (16); and various types of plant growth regulators (7). Differential patterns for the hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard indices (HI) were observed, of which were above the WHO limits. The decreasing order of the hazard quotient was Cl > Zn > Mg > Cr > Pb for both adults and children. In crux, the quality of water is poor for drinking purposes and the safety and well-being of residents in the recently developed housing societies of the study area may be at risk. Hence, it is important to implement a plan for water quality management, and the regular monitoring (periodic testing of qualitative and quantitative attributes) of the water quality to overcome health-related issues.