Assessing the health risks associated with elevated manganese and iron in groundwater in Sreemangal and Moulvibazar Sadar, Bangladesh

The principal source of drinking water in Bangladesh is groundwater tapped through tubewells. Studies on the concentrations of Mn and Fe in groundwater have been conducted in two hilly areas: Moulvibazar Sadar and Sreemangal upazila in the district of Moulvibazar. Groundwater samples were collected from 23 publicly acces-sible tubewells, and the concentration of Mn and Fe was identified using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer and UV-visible spectrophotometer, respectively. The results demonstrated that 73% and 69% of groundwater samples had concentrations of Mn and Fe, respectively, that were higher than the acceptable levels for drinking water as per the standards set by Bangladesh and the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, water quality index analysis indicated that 34.8% of samples had poor water quality, while only 17.3% had excellent water quality. Hazard indexes (HI) were used for adults and children to determine the risk of drinking water contaminated with Mn and Fe. The HI values for children showed a wide range, with means of 2.69 and 3.93 for Moulvibazar Sadar and Sreemangal, respectively. For adults, the means were lower, at 0.37 and 0.44 for Moulvibazar and Sreeman-gal, respectively. This result implies that the health risks associated with non-carcinogenic elements, Mn, and Fe, are more prevalent among children than adults in the study area.