Environ Geochem Health. 2026 Mar 22;48(6):253. doi: 10.1007/s10653-026-03129-4.
ABSTRACT
Mining-induced heavy metal contamination poses a potential threat to the water security of Central India’s tribal-dominated zones, despite the scarcity of integrated hydrogeochemical studies with multi-pathway health risk appraisals. To investigate the seasonal variations in spring water (n = 15) and groundwater (n = 47) quality within four river basins in the region of the Bailadila Iron Ore Mining area, Chhattisgarh using hydrogeochemical diagrams, multivariate statistical analysis, and comprehensive health risk modeling were adopted. The samples collected during two seasons, namely pre-monsoon and post-monsoon were analyzed for eleven heavy metals, major ions, and physico-chemical parameters utilizing the standard methods. The Gibbs plots suggested the weathering of rocks as the major geochemical process, while Piper diagrams showed predominantly Ca-Mg-HCO3 water types associated with carbonate dissociation. Principal Component Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis were used to distinguish three sources of contamination, i.e., geogenic weathering, mining operations, and agricultural activities. Strong correlations between mining-related metals (Cr-Pb: r = 0.71) and agricultural indicators (Na-K-Nitrate: r = 0.94-0.95) were observed based on Pearson correlation. The ANNOVA results revealed that the Sankani and Talperu basins had the highest levels of contamination, with considerable geographical differences (F = 39.14, p < 0.001). Health risk assessment revealed elevated non-carcinogenic hazards (89% samples THI > 1.0; range 0.73-3.93), with children most vulnerable (pre-monsoon avg. THI 1.85). Arsenic dominated carcinogenic risk (82-92% TCR contribution; max 0.13 mg/L pre-monsoon vs. WHO/BIS 0.01 mg/L), while iron (max 13.33 mg/L vs. WHO 0.3 mg/L, BIS 1.0 mg/L) and manganese (max 0.34 mg/L vs. WHO 0.4 mg/L, BIS 0.1 mg/L) drove 69% of non-carcinogenic risks. These findings underscore the importance of implementing long‑term remediation strategies to safeguard vulnerable indigenous communities from mining‑related health risks.
PMID:41865317 | DOI:10.1007/s10653-026-03129-4
