Non-Carcinogenic Health Risk Assessment and Monte Carlo Simulation of Nitrite, Nitrate, and Fluoride in Drinking Water of Yasuj, Iran Publisher



Zarei MR^{1, 2} ; Fallahizadeh S³ ; Rajabi S^{1, 2} ; Gharehchahi E^{1, 2} ; Rahimi N⁴ ; Azhdarpoor A²
Source: International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry Published:2022

Abstract

Nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-), and fluoride (F-) are three of the most prevalent elements found in drinking water that should be regularly assessed since they can have significant and very important impacts on human health. Health risk assessment is one technique for assessing how these three components affect human health. The main objective of this study was to assess the health risks of NO2-, NO3-, and F- in the drinking water of Yasuj, Iran. Health risk assessment was accomplished through probabilistic and deterministic approaches. NO2-, NO3-, and F-concentrations were measured at 51 sampling sites of the distribution network from 2018 to 2019. The mean concentration of NO2-, NO3-, and F- were 0.07 (0.01–0.15), 9.05 (3.2–18), and 0.23 (0.02–0.65) mg/L, respectively, and were lower than World Health Organization (WHO) and Iranian standard. Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were applied to determine the non-carcinogenic risk of NO2-, NO3-, and F-. The hazard quotient (HQ) was computed for four classified subgroups of infants, teenagers, children, and adults for the human health risk assessment of the ingestion route. The HQ values for all subgroups were less than 1. The sensitivity analysis results demonstrated that the NO3- and F- levels had the greatest effect in adults and infants compared to other subgroups. The results demonstrated that the NO2-, NO3-, and F-levels in Yasuj drinking water are safe for the inhabitants. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.