title: Risk assessment for arsenic-contaminated groundwater along River Indus in Pakistan.
abstract: The study determined the risk zone and estimated the population at risk of adverse health effects for arsenic exposure along the bank of River Indus in Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 216 randomly selected villages of one of the districts along River Indus. Wells of ten households from each village were selected to measure arsenic levels. The location of wells was identified using global positioning system device, and spatial variations of the groundwater contamination were assessed using geographical information system tools. Using layers of contaminated drinking water wells according to arsenic levels and population with major landmarks, a risk zone and estimated population at risk were determined, which were exposed to arsenic level ≥10 µg/L. Drinking wells with arsenic levels of ≥10 µg/L were concentrated within 18 km near the river bank. Based on these estimates, a total of 13 million people were exposed to ≥10 µg/L arsenic concentration along the course of River Indus traversing through 27 districts in Pakistan. This information would help the researchers in designing health effect studies on arsenic and policy makers in allocating resources for designing focused interventions for arsenic mitigation in Pakistan. The study methods have implication on similar populations which are affected along rivers due to arsenic contamination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Unaib
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rabbani
authors.affiliation: Unit for Ain Zubaida Rehabilitation and Groundwater Research, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.|Department of Geography, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Gohar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mahar
authors.affiliation: Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hammad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Azhar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siddique
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. zafar.fatmi@aku.edu.
authors.forename: Zafar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fatmi
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D010154:Pakistan; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Drinking groundwater; Global positioning system; Pakistan; Risk assessment