Environmental Assessment of Trace elements polluting the Waters of the Euphrates River in Nasiriyah City and their Health Effects

Abstract

Water is important for its multiple uses, either directly or indirectly, and water is the factor most connected to human activities, in addition to that it poses a threat to human health and is infected with many diseases such as bacteria and viruses, the Euphrates River is exposed to environmental pollution by sewage waste and agricultural drainage, in addition to that sources. Industrial These sources contribute to the spatial and temporal variation of trace element concentrations between spatial monitoring sites and their impact on human health and the environment. It is noted that the highest concentration of iron was recorded near the Nasiriya thermal power station at (1420) and (952) (micrograms) in the summer and winter seasons respectively, and when comparing the spatial monitoring results with the Iraqi environmental determinants, it becomes clear that all of them exceeded the permissible limit of (300 micrograms). It was found that zinc concentrations are the lowest near the shoulders of the forefront orchards at (28) micrograms due to the nature of the water and its distance from the sources of pollution except for some agricultural wastes, with the presence of plants that work to filter and purify the water from pollutants as it was within the permissible limits and the results of the laboratory analysis of lead showed There are clear differences between the concentration rates of winter and summer, while remaining within the national and global environmental standards, and it became clear that the variation in cadmium concentration at the spatial monitoring sites differs spatially and temporally, as the highest concentration was recorded near the Nasiriyah public park by (6 micrograms) in the summer due to the accumulation of waste that exceeded the two summer seasons in The energy sites and Nasiriyah Public Park, the environmental determinant of (5 micrograms), in addition to that, the results were within the permissible limits, and it was found that the concentrations of nickel in all monitoring sites It is within the environmental determinants and did not exceed the Iraqi environmental standards and the World Health Organization (WHO), and the cobalt concentration ratios did not exceed the environmental determinants in time and place in the study area, with a difference in the spatial concentration of ratios.