title: Preliminary Health Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Metals in Surface Water of the Himalayan Rivers, Nepal.
abstract: This study investigates the contamination levels and risk assessments of 14 elements (Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sb, Sr, V and Zn) in three sub-basins of Himalayan rivers. Water samples were collected and the hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and water quality index (WQI) were calculated. Total average concentrations of the metals were 135.03, 80.10 and 98.34 µg/L in Gandaki, Indrawati and Dudh Koshi rivers, respectively. The results of HQ and HI were less than unity, suggesting a low risk of metals in the region. However, HQ for antimony (Sb) was found to be 4.4 × 10-1, 2.1 × 10-1and 5.4 × 10-1in three river basins and HI near unity, suggesting its potential risk. Additionally, HI for Cd in Indrawati was 5.4 × 10-1also close to unity, suggesting that Cd could have a potential risk to the local residents and aquatic ecosystems. Further, WQI suggested that the rivers Gandaki and Indrawati fell into the excellent water quality and river Dudh Koshi fell into good water quality.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China.|Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, 50130, Mikkeli, Finland.|Himalayan Environment Research Institute (HERI), Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Lekhendra
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tripathee
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China. shichang.kang@lzb.ac.cn.|CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. shichang.kang@lzb.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Shichang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal.|Himalayan Environment Research Institute (HERI), Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Chhatra Mani
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Dipesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rupakheti
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China.|Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, 50130, Mikkeli, Finland.|Himalayan Environment Research Institute (HERI), Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Rukumesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paudyal
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, 50130, Mikkeli, Finland.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, 50130, Mikkeli, Finland.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sillanpää
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009390:Nepal; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Himalayas; Nepal; Risk assessment; River; Trace metal