IJEP 42(5): 565-572 : Vol. 42 Issue. 5 (May 2022)
Astha Kumari, Akash Tripathi and N.S. Maurya*
National Institute of Technology Patna, Department of Civil Engineering, Patna – 800 005, Bihar, India
Abstract
This study discusses the risk posed to the residents of Sinha block, Bhojpur district, Bihar due to consuming reportedly high levels of arsenic-contaminated groundwater. Samples have shown an elevated level of arsenic concentration in the range of 43.32-395.20 µg/L with an average of 186.26 and a standard deviation of 110.64. The average daily dose (ADD) was calculated using the integrated risk assessment system (IRIS) developed by USEPA, for three age groups, namely children (0-6 years), teens (6-16 years) and adults (>16 years). Results showed 100 times greater ADD than the safe limit of 0.0003 mg/kg/day. The mean hazard quotient had shown a very high value of 36.1 which can be concluded as a severe non-carcinogenic risk threat to the study area. Carcinogenic risk (CR) value >10-6 indicates potential risk and the safe limit of carcinogenic risk is <10-4 when results were compared to these values, we found a very high risk of 10-2. Children and the adults in the study are found to be more susceptible to risk. For assessing uncertainty and sensitivity of inputs variables Monte Carlo simulation was used.
Keywords
Arsenic, groundwater, Sinha block, Monte Carlo simulation, Exposure assessment
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