Ecological and Health Risk Assessment of Cadmium Contamination in Groundwater Samples Collected from the Arid Climatic Region

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in various regions of Pakistan has been reported which poses severe threats to the health of local communities through various exposure routes. There is relatively scarce data and information regarding Cd contamination status in the groundwater of Punjab, Pakistan, which is typically used for drinking purposes. The present research work was carried out to assess the concentration of Cd in the drinking water samples collected from the Khanewal district. Drinking water samples (196) were collected from different sources of groundwater (hand and electric pumps, tube wells) at different depths (50-400 feet) in rural and urban areas of four tehsils (Jahanian, Kabirwala, Khanewal, and Mian Channu) of district Khanewal. The collected water samples were evaluated for Cd level and physico-chemical properties such as electrical conductivity, pH, carbonates, cations, anions, and bicarbonates. It was noticed that 90% of collected samples of water were unsafe for drinking purposes as these contained higher levels of Cd compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit of Cd (3.0 × 10^-3 mg L^-1) in drinking water. Cd-induced health risks were also calculated concerning the hazard quotient (HQ), the average daily dose (ADD), and carcinogenic risk (CR) for humans who were reliant on the Cd-mixed water for consumption. Overall, the study found that people in the Khanewal district were at a severe/serious carcinogenic health risk due to Cd contamination in drinking water. This study highlights that management and monitoring steps are necessary for people in study regions, to decrease Cd-induced health issues and build effective remediation methods for Cd-contaminated water.