Fecha de publicación: 21/11/2024 Fuente: Journal of Sustainable Development Abstract
Groundwater, an invaluable natural resource on a global scale, faces significant threats to its quality from anthropogenic activities. This study aims to assess groundwater quality for domestic and agricultural purposes and to assess coal mines’ impact on groundwater chemistry. Examined 11 coal mines, selecting literature based on keywords like “coal mines,” “groundwater,” and “India” to review major ions and metals. The evaluation of groundwater chemistry mechanisms using scatter plots, the Gibbs diagram, and the Piper plot indicates that rock weathering is the predominant process. The groundwater exhibits a mixed water type without a clear dominance of any hydrochemical facies. The water quality index (WQI) indicates that the overall water quality meets safe level. However, recognizing the limitations and uncertainties of WQI, particularly in capturing risks from chronic exposure to toxic metals, this study incorporated a health risk assessment to evaluate potential long-term health impacts associated with these contaminants. The findings show that the calculated hazard index values for adults and children are 1.93 and 1.87, respectively, suggesting potential non-carcinogenic health risks. Additionally, the total carcinogenic risk values are 8E-4 for adults and 7.76E-4 for children, indicating a potential cancer risks. These results emphasize that, although the WQI categorizes the water as safe, chronic exposure to specific metals may lead to health impacts over a lifetime. The irrigation indices, coupled with graphical representations of Wilcox, US Salinity, and Doneen classifications, confirm that the water is suitable for irrigation. The findings of this study provide government agencies and mining planners with critical insights into groundwater sources and contamination levels, serving as a valuable resource for developing strategies and implementing measures to protect water resources in these regions.