Distribution, enrichment mechanism and risk assessment for fluoride in groundwater: a case study of Mihe-Weihe River Basin, China

Highlights

● High fluorine is mainly HCO₃·Cl-Na and HCO₃-Na type.

● F⁻ decreases with the increase of depth to water table.

● High fluoride is mainly affected by fluorine-containing minerals and weak alkaline.

● Fluorine pollution is mainly in the north near Laizhou Bay (wet season > dry season).

● Groundwater samples have a high F⁻ health risk (children > adults).

Abstract

Due to the unclear distribution characteristics and causes of fluoride in groundwater of Mihe-Weihe River Basin (China), there is a higher risk for the future development and utilization of groundwater. Therefore, based on the systematic sampling and analysis, the distribution features and enrichment mechanism for fluoride in groundwater were studied by the graphic method, hydrogeochemical modeling, the proportionality factor between conventional ions and factor analysis. The results show that the fluorine content in groundwater is generally on the high side, with a large area of medium-fluorine water (0.5–1.0 mg/L), and high-fluorine water is chiefly in the interfluvial lowlands and alluvial-marine plain, which mainly contains HCO₃·Cl-Na- and HCO₃-Na-type water. The vertical zonation characteristics of the fluorine content decrease with increasing depth to the water table. The high flouride groundwater during the wet season is chiefly controlled by the weathering and dissolution of fluorine-containing minerals, as well as the influence of rock weathering, evaporation and concentration. The weak alkaline environment that is rich in sodium and poor in calcium during the dry season is the main reason for the enrichment of fluorine. Finally, an integrated assessment model is established using rough set theory and an improved matter element extension model, and the level of groundwater pollution caused by fluoride in the Mihe-Weihe River Basin during the wet and dry seasons in the Shandong Peninsula is defined to show the necessity for local management measures to reduce the potential risks caused by groundwater quality.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Groundwater in the Mihe-Weihe River Basin / Distribution characteristics of fluorine / Factors influencing fluoride / Enrichment mechanism of fluorine / Hydrogeochemical modeling / Pollution and risk assessment

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (China) (Nos. ZR2020KE023 and ZR2021MD057) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42002282).

Author Contributions

Xingyue Qu: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Data curation, Writing-original draft. Peihe Zhai: Visualization, Investigation, Tests, Measurements and Analysis. Longqing Shi: Visualization, Investigation, Tests, Measurements and Analysis. Xingwei Qu: Supervision, Field investigation and Sampling. Ahmer Bilal: Software and Polishing. Jin Han and Xiaoge Yu: Software, Validation, Field investigation.

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