This document summarizes heavy metal contamination in various areas of Pakistan. It discusses high levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, copper, chromium, and zinc found in groundwater and surface water in several provinces, often exceeding World Health Organization guidelines. Extended exposure to these heavy metals through drinking water can cause various cancers and other health issues. Maps show the concentration levels of cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead and arsenic found in groundwater across Pakistan.

1. By
Maryum Atique
M.Phil (Chemistry)

2.  Arsenic
 Cadmium
 Lead
 Nickel
 Copper
 Chromium
 Iron
 Zinc

3.  Area Arsenic concentration was found high in surface and
groundwater in Pakistan mainly in two provinces, that is, Punjab
and Sind.
Risk Assessment The World Health Organization
provisional guideline value for As concentration in drinking
water is 10 μg/L. Water resources (3% and 16%) having As
contamination level of over 50 μg/L are reported in Punjab and
Sind, respectively, while 20% and 36% of water resources of
Punjab and Sind are contaminated with arsenic above 10 μg/L.
 Arsenic exposure It causes a markedly elevated risk
for developing a number of cancers, most notably skin cancer
and cancers of the liver, lung, bladder, and possibly the kidney
and colon.

4.  Area Cd concentration was found high in surface and
groundwater in Pakistan mainly in two provinces, that is,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Kalpani drain), Sind (Malir River
and Korangi area in Karachi).
 Risk Assessment In drinking water the tolerable
concentration set by WHO is 0.003 mg/L for
Cd. Hayatabad Industrial Estate, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(KPK) province (0.21 mg/L). Korangi area, Karachi
(5.35 mg/L ). Moreover, in north and east zones of Lahore,
Punjab province,(> the safe limit).
Human exposure Cd and its compounds are
causing cancer of the lung, kidney and of the prostate. Cd
intoxication can also leads to pulmonary damages, kidney
damage, skeletal damage, and itai-itai diseases.

5.  Area Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJ&K), Sialkot, Akbarpura
area of district Nowshera, Hattar Industrial Estate, KPK
 Risk Assessment In Pakistan, most of the ground
water samples exceeded the permissible limit of 0.01 mg/L
set by WHO for drinking water. AJ&K(1.8 and 4.7 mg/L),
Hattar Industrial Estate (KPK) 0.26 mg/L, Sialkot,
Punjab (> 0.01 mg/L).
Human exposure health problems, ranging from
small effects on metabolism and intelligence to
convulsions, coma, renal failure, cancer and death.

6.  Area Karachi( Lyari, Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Lahore
(North and East zone).
 Risk Assessment National Standards for Drinking
Water Quality, Pakistan (NSDWQ-Pak), suggest the
guideline value of 0.02 mg/L. Jhangar Valley, Punjab
province, the maximum total content of Ni in soil was
recorded as 81 mg/Kg , 70 mg/kg in Kohistan region. In
soil, the highest concentration of Ni is 324 mg/kg (mean
172 mg/kg) from contaminated Lahore site.
Human exposure It cause cancers of the lung and
of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.

7.  Area Zoab (Balochistan), Kasur (Punjab).
 Risk Assessment In ground water samples from
various regions in Pakistan show Cr variation
ranging from <0.001 to 9.8 mg/L, being the highest
(mean value 2.12 mg/L) in well water from
residential area, Kasur, Punjab province , whereas
surface water contamination was found in the
range of 0.16–0.29 mg/L Bara River, Nowshera,
KPK province .
 Human exposure cancer of the lung, nose and nasal
sinuses.

8. Map of Pakistan showing the Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb,
and As concentration in ground water
(mean values; where mean value is not
available, the highest values are used).

9.  Rehman, W., Zeb, A., Noor, N., & Nawaz, M. (2008). Heavy
metal pollution assessment in various industries of
Pakistan. Environmental geology, 55(2), 353-358.
 A. Azizullah, M. N. K. Khattak, P. Richter, and D. Häder,
“Water pollution in Pakistan and its impact on public
health—a review,” Environment International, vol. 37, no.
2, pp. 479–497, 2011.
 Waseem, A., Arshad, J., Iqbal, F., Sajjad, A., Mehmood, Z.,
& Murtaza, G. (2014). Pollution Status of Pakistan: A
Retrospective Review on Heavy Metal Contamination of
Water, Soil, and Vegetables. BioMed research
international,2014.