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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/FWSH/32
Unraveling the transfer and accumulation of arsenic from groundwater to biological
samples in district Pakpattan, Punjab, Pakistan

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Muhammad Tayyab Javed , Muhammad Shahid , Natasha , Sana Khalid , Samina Khalid ,
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Zakir Ali , Muhammad Farhan Saeed
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari- Campus,
61100 Pakistan
Correspondence: muhammadshahid@cuivehari.edu.pk
Abstract
More than 80% of the population of Pakistan uses untreated groundwater for drinking purposes.
Due to the present threat for human health and the environment, it is of utmost importance to
estimate groundwater quality used for drinking and acquisition of As in biological samples.
Therefore, the research was designed to estimate As contamination of the groundwater aquifers
and its possible buildup in animal milk and human nail and hair samples in the unexplored
District of South Punjab (Pakpattan).Water, hair, nail, and milk samples were collected for two
tehsils of District Pakpattan namely Tehsil Arifwala and tehsil Pakpattan. Water samples were
analyzed for water quality parameters such as pH, electric conductivity, total dissolved solids,
carbonates, bicarbonates, calcium plus magnesium and chlorides. Overall, the water samples
were within the WHO guidelines of drinking water. However, As concentration was found
higher in water samples ranging from 1.7 to 36.7 µg/L. The mean As concentration of 15.6
µg/L was much higher than the WHO limit value of 10 µg/L. However, it was lower than the
As limit value in drinking water recommended by Pak-EPA (50 µg/L). The risk indices
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exhibited potential carcinogenic (CR > 10 ) and non-carcinogenic risk (HQ > 1) from the
consumption of As-contaminated water in District Pakpattan. The average As content in hair
and nail samples of District Pakpattan was 6.12 and 5.1 µg/kg, respectively. Higher As levels
were found in milk samples (0.6-179 µg/L) which can be due to high groundwater
contamination of As. Indeed, recent reports of As content in ground/drinking water, including
As-related health hazards, highlight the immediate importance of As analysis of biological
tissues as a biomarker of As toxicity to the risk groups. However, a good correlation with the
groundwater As concentration, allied with the relative ease of sampling such tissues, is
warranted indicating that the As content of hair, nail and milk samples may be used as an
effective biomarker to estimate As toxicity to the exposed population.

Keywords: Drinking water, hair, nails, biological samples, Arsenic

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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