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. 2024 Mar 29;10(7):e28860.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28860. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Heavy metal contamination assessment and potential human health risk of water quality of lakes situated in the protected area of Tisa, Romania

Thomas Dippong  1 , Maria-Alexandra Resz  2
Affiliations

Heavy metal contamination assessment and potential human health risk of water quality of lakes situated in the protected area of Tisa, Romania

Thomas Dippong et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Protected areas are significant due to the high value of natural resources they shelter. This study's primary objective is to assess the quality status of the water resources (13 lakes and Tisa River) localized in the protected area of Tisa River on the territory of Romania. A number of 13 lakes and surface water (Tisa River) situated in the protected area through the Natura 2000 ecological network are studied. The chemistry and potential pollution status were analyzed by measuring and analyzing a set of twenty elements and sixteen physico-chemical parameters. The potential impact of anthropogenic activities was settled through the applied analysis and obtained results. A potential human health risk was noticed. Results indicated that waters are rich in Ni and Fe probably due to interaction with groundwater rich in Fe and Ni. Waters are characterized by potential contamination, which if directly or through the food chain consumed could negatively influence the human health. Piper and Gibbs plots indicated that the studied waters are divided into three categories based on water-rock interactions: mixed Ca2+-Na+-HCO3-, CaCO3-, and Na+-HCO3-. Likewise, the applied pollution indices (Heavy metal Pollution Index, HPI and Heavy metal Evaluation Index, HEI) indicated three pollution categories correlated to the As, Ni and Fe amounts. The findings of this research imply that the chemistry of the studied lakes and surface waters is influenced by the geogenic origin and emergence of anthropogenic activities. The significance of this research is related to understanding of mechanisms that influence the water quality, improving and conserving the natural water resources, and correspondingly understanding if any potential human health risks could be identified.

Keywords: Heavy metals; Pollution indices; Protected area of Tisa river; Quality index; Water quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Localization of the sampling points and Tisa River in the Tisa Superioara protected area.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The correlations between NO3−/Cl− and Cl− applied for the lake samples.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Gibbs diagram applied for the lake and Tisa samples.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
TIS (total ionic salinity) diagram applied for the lake and Tisa samples.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Piper diagrams applied for lake and Tisa samples.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
HPI and HEI scores for the studied samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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