Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Groundwater of Industrial Township Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India

The present investigation deals with the health risk assessment due to the heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Co, Mn, Pb, Ni, and Zn) in groundwater in the industrial township of Virudhunagar district. Twenty groundwater samples were collected, and the measured concentration of the heavy metals follows the order Pb > Ni > Zn > Co > Cr > Cd > Cu > Mn. The metal pollution indices (heavy metal evaluation index, Heavy metal pollution index, degree of contamination) were calculated using the measured heavy metal concentrations. The samples collected nearer to the industrial zone have elevated concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Ni. The carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks were calculated based on the measured heavy metals concentration and average daily intake of water. The calculated carcinogenic risk values (5.66 × 10 −3 –1.56 × 10 −2 ) (Pb, Cd, and Ni) exceed the acceptable limit of 10 −6 –10 −4 . The noncarcinogenic risk exceeds the acceptable limit of one for the heavy metals Pb and Cr. The higher carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risk values reveal that the study area has health risks due to Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr metals. Furthermore, factor analysis and cluster analysis showed that the industrial impact and wastage dumpsites are the prime sources for heavy metal contamination in groundwater of the study area.