Appraising the eco-health of Tigris River water using pollution indicators and the health risk assessment model

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Tigris River is a major source for supplying water for various purposes (drinking, domestic, industrial, and agricultural) for many cities and villages, and evaluating its water for human use is an important goal. For assessment purposes, nine stations, nine elements, four eco-health pollution indicators, and a health risk assessment model were chosen to evaluate the Tigris River's water environmentally and healthily in three governorates, namely Nineveh, Salah Al-Din, and Baghdad, in April 2023. The results of pollution indicators like the heavy metal pollution index, metal index, synthetic pollution index, and Nemerow Index showed that the Al-Qayyarah and Baiji sites were distinguished by higher values compared to the other stations. High concentrations of cadmium and lead, above the permissible limits for drinking water according to the World Health Organization, have clearly affected the values of pollution indicators. This research showed that there are non-carcinogenic risks to children from drinking water in the Qayyarah and Baiji stations due to the hazard quotient exceeding 1, while there are no risks to adults. Regarding the use of Tigris River water for bathing purposes, the risk quotient value was ,1 for all study stations, indicating that there are no risks to children and adults.