Assessment of groundwater quality and human health risks from fluoride in Lower Satluj Basin, Punjab, India

Groundwater fluoride contamination in some parts of the study region was long recognized as a water quality issue. For this purpose, groundwater samples were collected from different groundwater abstraction units (14 sampling sites and 28 years data 1990–2018) and analyzed using standard protocols. The results of water quality index (WQI) showed that 86% and 14% of sampling sites fall within the class of “good” and “poor” quality, respectively. Non-carcinogenic health risk (NCHR) assessment (using hazard quotient (HQ)) and sensitivity analysis for three age groups were also carried out using Monte Carlo simulation technique. The estimated levels of HQoral were greater in magnitude than those estimated from HQdermal; thus, the main source of fluoride toxicity is oral ingestion. Amongst the three age groups studied, children > female > male were found to be more prone to NCHR with HQoral ranging from (0.13 to 5.45), (0.07 to 2.97), and (0.06 to 2.51), respectively. Sensitivity analyses indicated that fluoride concentration, ingestion rate, shower exposure time, and fractional skin contact with water were the most relevant variables in the model to reduce the potential health effect.