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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Groundwater contamination with heavy metals: A case study in Hebron, Palestine

Waseem Al-Tamimi1* ,  Fadoua Hamzaoui-Azaza2 ,  Marwan Ghanem3 ,  Rachida Bouhalila1
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1 Modeling Hydraulic and Environmental Laboratory, National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT), University of Tunis El Manar, Campus Farhat Hached El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
2 Laboratory of Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology (SBPG), Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
3 Department of Geography, GeoInformatics Programme, Birzeit University, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine
AJWEP, 025040020 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP025040020
Submitted: 22 January 2025 | Revised: 3 March 2025 | Accepted: 6 March 2025 | Published: 3 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The study aims to identify seasonal fluctuations in groundwater quality concerning heavy metal contamination. Specifically, it assesses heavy metal concentrations in groundwater in Wadi Al-Samen, evaluates its suitability for drinking purposes, and compares these levels with the World Health Organization standards. Groundwater samples were collected from 20 wells over two seasons and analyzed for 16 trace elements using atomic absorption spectrometry. The metals analyzed include barium, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, cadmium, chromium, boron, lithium, aluminum, arsenic, manganese, nickel, copper, zinc, lead, and selenium. Results showed that four samples exceeded the permissible limits for barium and lithium in both seasons, three samples exceeded the recommended zinc limits in both seasons, 17 samples exceeded the permissible selenium limit in the dry season, and 145 in the wet season, while one sample exceeded the recommended copper limit in both seasons. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI) and metal index (MI) were used to assess contamination levels. HPI values exhibited significant spatial variations, with recorded values of 17.2 in the dry season and 11.99 in the wet season, both below the critical threshold of 100. Groundwater quality was classified as poor in the Al-Hejreh well and very poor in the Al-Fawwar1 well, rendering it unsuitable for drinking. MI results indicated moderate heavy metal contamination, with mean MI values of 2.3 in the dry season and 2.2 in the wet season. The heavy metals detected in the study area were categorized into toxic elements, alkaline earth metals, alkali metals, transition metals, other metallic elements, and non-metallic elements. This research highlights groundwater contamination in Wadi Al-Samen and underscores the need for mitigation measures to reduce health risks for local residents.

Keywords
Heavy metals
Heavy metal pollution index
Metal index
Wadi Al-Samen
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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