Contamination of lead, cadmium and chromium in monitoring wells and drainage canals in a paddy field and its potential health risks to farmers / Nurain Abdul Ghaffar

INTRODUCTION: Water is one of the very precious substances on the earth and it is very essential for the existence and survival of life. Water quality of fresh water like groundwater and surface water are vitally important for crops plantation. Pollution of water comes from various sources. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the level of lead, cadmium, and chromium contamination in monitoring wells and drainage canals in a paddy field and its potential health risks to farmers. METHODOLOGY: The data were collected regarding on the concentration of lead, cadmium, and chromium in drainage canals and monitoring wells water. Besides that, the concentration of Pb, Cd, and Cr are in drainage canals and monitoring wells water being compared between two seasons (dry and wet seasons). Then, Average Daily Dose (ADD) for dermal contact was used for health risk assessment. FINDINGS: The mean concentration for lead was the highest (0.10 mg/L) in drainage canals water compared to the other two contaminants. Besides that, all the contaminants, Pb, Cd, and Cr concentration do not exceed the Interim National Water Quality Standard for Malaysia Class IV and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations of Rome 1985 are same. The standard for each chemical are Pb (5.00 mg/L), Cd (0.01 mg/L), and Cr (0.10 mg/L). However, the p-value or means of all the contaminants in drainage canals and monitoring wells are not significance because (p-value > 0.05).lt showed that there are differences in concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Cr between dry and wet seasons. HI value of Cd showed that there is a moderate or high risk of adverse human health effects occuring through dermal contacts with the water. CONCLUSION: The study showed the impact of drainage canals and monitoring wells contaminant that presence and can give potential impact to health.