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Groundwater quality evolution based on geochemical modeling and aptness testing for ingestion using entropy water quality and total hazard indexes in an urban-industrial area (Tiruppur) of Southern India

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Abstract

This study used geochemical modeling to understand the chemical evolution of groundwater, entropy water quality index to assess the aptness of groundwater for human consumption, and total hazard index to determine the possible non-carcinogenic risks among children, women, and men in an urban-industrial area (Tiruppur region) of southern India. For the above purposes, 40 groundwater samples were collected from tube and dug wells, and they were tested for various physicochemical parameters. Fluoride and nitrate levels ranged from 0.10 to 2.70 mg/l and 10 to 290 mg/l, respectively. Nearly, 50% of the fluoride samples and 58% of the nitrate samples exceeded the WHO limits of 1.5 and 45 mg/l, respectively. The majority of the groundwater samples (22.5%) represented Ca2+-Na+-Cl− water type while the remaining samples exhibited mixed water types. Approximately, 85% of the samples indicated high levels of salinization since they had Revelle index > 0.5 meq/l. The saturation index (SI) revealed that mineral weathering; dissolution of halite, gypsum, and anhydrite; and precipitation of calcite and dolomite contributed to groundwater chemistry. Based on the entropy water quality index (EWQI), none of the groundwater samples was characterized as excellent or good water quality while 57.5% of the samples had medium water quality, and 32.5% and 10% of the samples exhibited poor and extremely poor water qualities, respectively. The last two categories are designated as unfit for consumption. The cumulative health risk (nitrate and fluoride together) ranged from 0.97 to 11.16 for children, 0.60 to 10.54 for women, and 0.39 to 6.92 for men. These values represent health risks among 88%, 80%, and 73% of the groundwater samples for children, women, and men, respectively. Therefore, proper measures should to be done to reduce the health risks associated with high nitrate and fluoride in the groundwater of the study area, which is used for drinking purposes.

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Funding

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (file no: ECR/2017/000132 dated. 18.07.2017) for released the required funds to execute this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology (Autonomous), Coimbatore, 641062, India

    D. Karunanidhi & P. Aravinthasamy

  2. Department of Applied Chemistry, Priyadarshini Institute of Engineering and Technology, Nagpur, 440019, India

    M. Deepali

  3. Department of Geology, CEG, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, India

    T. Subramani

  4. Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX, 76402, USA

    Barbara C. Bellows

  5. School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an, 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Peiyue Li

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  1. D. Karunanidhi
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  3. M. Deepali
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  4. T. Subramani
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  5. Barbara C. Bellows
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Contributions

D. Karunanidhi: writing-original draft, conceptualization, investigation, writing-review and editing, and supervision. P. Aravinthasamy: data curation, methodology, resources, and writing-original draft. M. Deepali: formal analysis and software. T. Subramani: writing-review and editing, methodology, and formal analysis. Barbara C. Bellows: visualization. Peiyue Li: writing-review and editing.

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Karunanidhi, D., Aravinthasamy, P., Deepali, M. et al. Groundwater quality evolution based on geochemical modeling and aptness testing for ingestion using entropy water quality and total hazard indexes in an urban-industrial area (Tiruppur) of Southern India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 18523–18538 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10724-0

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