title: Exposure of children to arsenic in drinking water in the Tharparkar region of Sindh, Pakistan.
abstract: Humans can be exposed to arsenic (As) through air, drinking water, and food. The aim of this study was to calculate the hazard quotient (HQ) of As, based on its concentration in drinking water and the scalp hair of children (males) belonging to two age groups (5-10 and 11-14 years) who consumed water contaminated with different concentrations of As. The water samples were collected from As-exposed and nonexposed areas, which were classified as low-exposed (LE), high-exposed (HE), and nonexposed (NE) areas. The total concentration of inorganic As (iAs) and its species (As(III) and As(V)) in water samples of all selected areas was determined by advanced extraction methods. For purposes of comparison, the total As level was also determined in all water samples. The resulting data indicated that the predominant inorganic As species in groundwater samples was arsenate (As(V)). The As concentrations in drinking water of LE and HE areas were found to be 2.6-230-fold higher than the permissible limit for drinking water established by the World Health Organization (2004). However, the As levels in drinking water of the NE area was within the permissible limit (<10 μg/L). The As levels in the scalp hair samples from boys of NE, LE, and HE areas ranged from 0.16 to 0.36, 0.36 to 0.83, and 11.5 to 31.9 mg/kg, respectively. A significant, positive correlation was observed between the As levels in drinking water and scalp hair samples of children from the HE area, compared with the other two groups (p>0.01). The As toxicity risk assessment based on HQ for the NE, LE, and HE areas corresponded to <10, ≥ 10, and >10, respectively. These HQ values indicated the noncarcinogenic, less carcinogenic, and highly carcinogenic exposure risks faced by children from the NE, LE, and HE areas, respectively. It can be concluded that children consuming the groundwater of the LE (Khairpur Mir's) and HE (Tharparkar) areas of Pakistan are at a potential risk of chronic As toxicity.
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: kr_brahman@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Kapil Dev
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Brahman
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: tgkazi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Tasneem Gul
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Kazi
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: hassanimranafridi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hassan Imran
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Afridi
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: jab_mughal@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jameel Ahmed
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Baig
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: ssadiashafi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sadaf Sadia
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Arain
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: farahtalpur@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Farah Naz
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Talpur
authors.affiliation: Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: dratifgulkazi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Atif Gul
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kazi
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: ajamshed75@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jamshed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. Electronic address: haleem_analyst@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Abdul Haleem
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Panhwar
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan. Electronic address: bilal_ku2004@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Muhammad Balal
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Arain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic toxicity; Children; Drinking water; Hazard quotient; Scalp hair