Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Aras Transboundary River
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, cilt.237, sa.23, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 237 Sayı: 23
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11270-026-09999-9
- Dergi Adı: Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, Artic & Antarctic Regions, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, EMBASE, Environment Index, Geobase, Greenfile, Zoological Record, Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Earth, Atmospheric, & Aquatic Science Collection (ProQuest), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Aras River, Geoaccumulation Index, Heavy Metals Pollutants, Metal Index, Surface Water
- Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır
Özet
Metal pollution in the rivers crossing different nations is a challenging issue to be addressed regarding environmental sustainability and human health. The current research studies the spatiotemporal variations of 13 metals (As, Mo, Cd, Ba, Al, Co, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Fe) in the surface water of the Aras River and its five tributaries. In total, 1456 samples have been gathered from 14 stations on the Iranian side from September 2021 to August 2022. The comprehensive risk assessments have been conducted through the use of the following indices – Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI), Metal Index (MI), Potential Ecological Risk Index (PRID), and Human Health Risk (HHR). Numerical analysis demonstrated that Aluminum (Al) and Iron (Fe) were the main pollutants with levels of concentration above allowable limits. Thus, the average level of Al at S7 was 1.221 mg/L (MPC: 0.1 mg/L), while Fe at S8 was 17.245 mg/L (MPC: 0.3 mg/L). While arsenic (As) was consistently above 0.01 mg/L upstream and reduced downstream because of dilution, HPI and MI revealed moderate to significant pollution caused by high concentrations of aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) with MI exceeding 6 at most sites. Nevertheless, based on HHR, Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index were below 1, which indicates that there is no significant non-cancer risk associated with the current level of contamination. It may be concluded that, although human risks are manageable now, the extreme ecological damage is a matter of concern and needs mitigation measures.