IMPACT OF WATERBORNE CONTAMINANTS ON PUBLIC HEALTH IN RURAL AREAS: A STUDY IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The current study is aimed at assessing the effects of water contamination with different chemicals on human health in rural areas of Faisalabad, Pakistan. For these purposes, groundwater samples were collected from several locations and analyzed for physico-chemical, heavy metal, and microbiological properties. As shown in results, the levels of total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity in most samples were considerably higher than recommended values, which suggests poor water quality. Regarding the concentration of heavy metals in tested water samples, there was also a significant amount of arsenic and lead detected in the areas adjacent to industrial activities, which demonstrates an important anthropogenic impact on water. Besides, there is also evidence for high contamination with various pathogens as all analyzed water samples had levels of coliforms exceeding safety limits and 97.7 percent of samples contained pathogenic Escherichia coli. Health risk assessment shows that children face a greater threat when using contaminated water with hazard quotient values being above safe levels in several areas. Furthermore, the carcinogenic risk associated with arsenic exposure was also higher than recommended values in all studied locations. There is a significant association between microbial contamination of water sources and incidence of typhoid and diarrhea among inhabitants.