Physicochemical and elemental contamination assessment in groundwater samples of Khairpur Mir's, Pakistan

Drinking water contaminated with arsenic poses serious threat to the human health. The present study was aimed for quality assessment of the groundwater of Khairpur Mir's in respect with arsenic and other elemental contamination like Fe, Cu, Co, and Ni. The presence of the trace elements in groundwater from different sources in the study area was measured by using atomic absorption spectroscopy. For arsenic analysis hydride generation technique (MHS-15) was used with detection limit of 0.02 mu g l(-1). Elevated level of arsenic was observed in most of the samples as compared to recommended value of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines (10 mu g l(-1)). However, levels of Fe, Cu, Co, and Ni in hand pump (HP) water samples was found in the range of 4-1610 mu g l(-1), 0-556 mu g l(-1), 0-230 mu g l(-1), and 0-700 mu g l(-1), respectively. Whereas in tube well (TW) water samples the observed values are 5-1620 mu g l(-1), 0-50 mu g l(-1), 4-110 mu g l(-1), and 0-360 mu g l(-1) for Fe, Cu, Co, and Ni, respectively. Significant difference was observed between TW and HP water samples. It was concluded that the level of arsenic found was very high up to 13 fold more than the WHO recommended limit in study area. While the levels of other elements was noted within the safe limit.