Investigating the correlation between chemical parameters, risk assessment, and sensitivity analysis of fluoride and nitrate in regional groundwater sources using Monte Carlo

This study aimed to investigate the chemical quality of groundwater for drinking and irrigation, assess the non-carcinogenic risk factors resulting from the concentration of fluoride and nitrate ions, and analyze the sensitivity among children, teenagers, and adults using Monte Carlo method. A total of 171 samples were obtained from confined groundwater in Arsanjan. Among other hydrological parameters of water, EC had the highest average (1135.97). TDS ranged from 67.90 to 1878.30 mg/L, with the lowest and highest total hardness values being 2.90 and 680.8, respectively. The water quality index (WQI) results indicated that 33% of the samples were at the poor water level and the irrigation (IWQI) was less than 25 in 96.36% of the samples, which were categorized as excellent. Thus, the majority of the samples were suitable for irrigation purposes. Additionally, the oral and dermal health risks of fluoride and nitrate were less than 1 in all age groups. Concentration factor was the main indicator in the assessment of the non-carcinogenic risk factors of nitrate and fluoride. The results of sensitivity analysis revealed a reverse relationship with body weight. Further, the results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed a negative relationship between fluoride concentration and pH. Hierarchical cluster analysis also showed that the study variables belonged to three main clusters. Some elements in C1 were also found in the first factor in PCA. The elements in C2 were among th...
Source: Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research