Screening and health risk of organic micropollutants in rural groundwater of Liaodong Peninsula, China

Groundwater serves as a main drinking water source for rural residents in China. However, little is known regarding the pollution of organic micropollutants in groundwater that may pose health risks. In this study, more than 1300 organic micropollutants were screened in the groundwater samples collected from 13 drinking water wells distributed across five rural regions of Liaodong Peninsula in China. A total of 80 organic micropollutants including 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 11 alkanes, 9 pesticides, 7 substituted phenols, 7 perfluoroalkyl acids, 6 heterocyclic compounds, 5 alcohols, 5 phthalic acid esters, 5 pharmaceutical and personal care products, 3 ketones, 2 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 2 alkylbenzenes and 2 chlorinated benzenes were detected, with their total concentration of 32–1.5 × 10⁴ ng/L. Noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of a part of pollutants were assessed. Exposure through skin absorption and oral ingestion was considered in the assessment. Generally the risks are within the acceptable limits, except for that the carcinogenic risk at two sites in Jinzhou is higher than 10⁻⁶. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on health risks of groundwater micropollutants in China. - Highlights: • More than 1300 organic micropollutants in the Dalian rural groundwater were screened. • A total of 80 organic micropollutants were detected. • Noncancer and cancer risks of the pollutants are within the acceptable limits. • Four compounds were detected in more than 40% of the groundwater samples. - More than 1300 organic micropollutants in the rural groundwater were screened and 80 micropollutants were detected at least once.