Risk assessment using ICP-MS of heavy metals in groundwater in Upper Egypt

Abstract

It is of great importance to assess the pollution of groundwater as it makes up about twenty percent\rof the world’s freshwater supply. Environmental laws in Egypt are correlated with protecting water\rresources from contamination and generally set the maximum limits for the concentration of different\rhazardous components in wastewater before it is discharged to sea water, rivers, groundwater and\rthe public sewer system. Groundwater from Samalout, Al Minya governorate, Egypt, is studied\rby analysing its heavy metal content using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS).\rFurthermore, the obtained heavy metal concentrations are compared with permissible limits\rset by environmental organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United\rStates Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA). Comparing the heavy metal concentrations\rwith the groundwater in question clearly demonstrated that the water in this resource should\rnot be directly used for drinking and requires some degree of treatment before usage. For\rexample, concentrations of chromium and lead are far above the maximum permissible limit. The\rconsequent health risks due to the usage of contaminated water are identified in this study as well.