Human Exposure and Risk Assessment Due to Toxic Heavy Metals in Groundwater of Larkana City

In this study, groundwater of 10 union councils of Larkana city was assessed by using atomic absorption spectrometry following microwave-assisted digestion. A total of 110 groundwater samples were collected by using a Global Positioning System. The results revealed that iron, zinc, nickel, copper, and lead present in the groundwater of Larkana city were within the level of 0.002-0.6 mg/L, 0.02-0.42 mg/L, 1-14.0 mg/L, 0.01-0.87 mg/L, and 0.01-12.0 mg/L, respectively. A total of 38% and 16% of samples showed a higher concentration of iron and lead, respectively. While other elements in the analyzed samples were within the safe limits set by WHO guidelines

Risk assessment of arsenic in ground water of Larkana city

Water is an essential component for the survival of humans and animals. Due to industrialization, water is being contaminated with varying polluting agents, arsenic (As) contamination is one of them. An exclusive study was carried out for the determination of As in groundwater of Larkana city using microwave-assisted digestion followed by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). For that purpose, a total of 110 groundwater samples were collected from 10 union councils (UCs) of the city based on global position system (GPS) method. Results revealed that maximum concentration of As was found 17.0 μg/L in UC-6, while in UC-1, UC-2 and UC-10 the concentration of As was found within the permissible limits of WHO. The minimum and maximum mean concentration of As was found 3.59 μg/L and 6.78 μg/L, respectively. Out of 110 ground water samples of Larkana city, 13 samples were found above the permissible limits (~12% of total samples). Hence, water can be used for drinking purpose with caution