article · Scientific Reports
An assessment of heavy metal contamination in surface water across the agricultural Sebou Basin in Morocco evaluated ecological and human health hazards using twenty water samples. Combining pollution indices, health risk assessments, Monte Carlo simulations, and multivariate statistical analyses, the evaluation revealed significant spatial variation, with the highest contamination in the northwestern, southwestern, and western areas. All tested samples were classified as highly contaminated, and sixty-five percent were categorised as seriously affected. Copper showed the highest hazard quotient for ingestion, whilst chromium surpassed hazard index thresholds for both adults and children. Cancer risks exceeded acceptable safety limits, with nickel presenting the most acute risk, particularly for children. Simulation modelling confirmed elevated risks from copper and chromium, underscoring a critical need for targeted interventions to mitigate pollution and support sustainable agricultural and environmental management.
Surface water is essential for agriculture and food security, yet toxic metal pollution creates severe hazards for ecosystems and human health. Demonstrating that children face heightened non-carcinogenic and cancer risks from regional water supplies provides vital empirical evidence for environmental regulators and public health bodies to address industrial or agricultural runoff and protect vulnerable local communities.
The abstract outlines an environmental assessment methodology rather than a commercial technology. The integrated risk assessment and simulation approach could inform analytical protocols or decision-support tools for environmental monitoring agencies, water management authorities, and remediation planners. However, as an observational field study based on twenty sampling sites, the work is at an early research stage, and the abstract does not indicate a direct pathway to commercialisation.
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Surface water is vital for environmental sustainability and agricultural productivity but is highly vulnerable to heavy metals (HMs) pollution from human activities. The focus of this research is to provide an analysis of ecological and human exposure to HMs in the Sebou Basin, an agriculturally significant region within Morocco’s Gharb Plain. Using a multi-index integration approach, encompassing HM pollution indices, Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), multivariate statistical analysis (MSA), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), twenty samples of surface water were taken and subjected to analysis. The results demonstrated notable spatial variability, with the northwestern, southwestern, and western parts of the Sebou Basin showing higher contamination levels. Cu exhibited the highest hazard quotient for ingestion, while Cr exceeded the hazard index (HI) threshold in both age categories. Statistical analysis uncovered strong associations, particularly between As and Cr, while principal component analysis (PCA) detected two key factors explaining 74.44% of the overall variability. Pollution indices classified all samples as highly contaminated (HPI > 30), with 65% categorized as “seriously affected” (MI > 6). The HHRA results indicated a heightened non-carcinogenic risk for children and carcinogenic risks exceeding acceptable thresholds (TCR > 10–4), with Ni presenting the highest risk (TCR = 2.32 × 10–3 for children). MCS results revealed that Cu and Cr pose potential risks, with Cu exceeding the safety threshold for ingestion in both adults and children. These results emphasize the urgent necessity for tailored strategies to reduce contamination and foster sustainable agricultural and environmental management practices.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-15006-8
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