Carcinogenic and Non-Carcinogenic Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in drinking tap water in Zabol city, Iran

Introduction The existence of heavy metals in drinking water is a serious threat to consumers chr('39') health in terms of the likelihood of suffering from diseases related to contaminated water consumption. this study aimed to determine the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk of heavy metals in drinking tap water in Zabol city, Iran. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study 50 samples were collected from different points of the urban drinking water network of Zabol city in Winter 2019 And according to the standard method were analyzed by ICP- OES device. The mean concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, manganese, zinc, copper, and iron were compared with national 1053 standards of Iran, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the World Health Organization. also, health risk assessment for children and adult age groups was carried out based on the guidelines of the U.S EPA. All analysis of data and human health risk assessment were estimated by using the Excel software. Results Among the metals, the mean concentrations of arsenic­­ (0.0407 mg/l) and cadmium­ (0.0034 ­mg/l) were higher than the permissible values of Iranchr('39')s 1053 national standards and the World Health Organization. hazard index (HI) was 9.62 for children and 4.12 for adults and the total carcinogenic risk was 1.79×10-3 and showed the highest level of carcinogenic risk. Conclusion The results of this study show the existence of a significant risk of incidence of non- cancerous diseases as well as a very high risk for cancer diseases as a result of prolonged exposure for the local population (especially children). Therefore, the necessary measures must be taken as soon as possible to reduce the amount of water pollution by the responsible organizations