Distribution, health effects and source apportionment of uranium and other potentially toxic elements in Ganga water

Analysis of U, Cr, Ni, As, Mo, Cd and Pb was performed in Ganga water in Uttarakhand state of India using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS). Seasonal and spatial variability in the analyzed Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) concentrations were observed in Ganga water in this study. The health risks of PTEs in Ganga water were estimated as pollution indices, hazard quotients and cancer risk. The estimated risk assessment parameters show that Ganga water is not contaminated by the analyzed PTEs in the investigated region. A multivariate statistical analysis of the obtained dataset was performed to identify the pollution sources.