1. Assessment of drinking water quality and human health risks in Karak and adjoining areas, Southeastern Kohat Basin, Pakistan.
- Author
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Nazir-ur-Rehman, Ahmad, Sajjad, Faisal, Shah, Ali, Fayaz, Ullah, Shuja, Ullah, Rizwan, Khan, Mumtaz Ali, Afrasiab, and Waqar Azeem, M.
- Subjects
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DRINKING water quality , *HEAVY metals , *DRINKING water , *WATER supply , *LIGHT metals , *ODORS , *DEIONIZATION of water - Abstract
Drinking water related environmental issues and diseases are major concern for people living in Karak area, located in arid to semi-arid region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In the present research, surface and subsurface water resources of Karak District are analyzed to determine the concentration ranges of various contaminants for effluence and assess their health-related risks. Surface and subsurface samples were collected from Kamangar, Shagi, Khusrara, Dabli Louaghar, Tiran Kuhi, Mamani, Kanda and Karak areas of the District Karak. The physico-chemical characteristics i.e. color, odor, taste, turbidity, Eh, chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4) and potassium (K) were found within their separate tolerable parameters in comparison with WHO fixed values of 2008. However, the concentrations of sodium (Na), total dissolved solids (TDS) and pH exceeded the acceptable parameters in few water samples. The concentrations of heavy metals e.g. iron (Fe), chromium (Cr) and zinc (Zn) were observed within the specified values fixed by WHO, 2008. For heavy metals, hazard quotient (HQ) indices and daily chronic intake (CDI) were tabulated. Daily chronic intake (CDI) values were found as Zn > Fe > Cr, whilst the HQ indices values were observed as Zn > Fe > Cr. The hazard quotient >1 shows no human health threats. The present study represents that the surface and subsurface water sources from Tehsil Karak of District Karak, are found suitable for the drinking purpose based on their chemical constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020