Health risk assessment of total petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals in groundwater and soils in petrochemical pipelines

Petrochemical pipelines contain many organic compounds that their leakage may bring about both soil and water contamination. This study aimed to conduct a health risk assessment on the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and heavy metals in groundwater and soil along with a petrochemical transfer pipeline in the south of Iran. The collected samples from different stations were analyzed using the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique to determine trace amounts of petroleum derivatives. Health risk assessment of heavy metals and petroleum pollutants was performed by Monte Carlo simulation (Crystal Ball software, version 2020). The results from a carcinogenic risk assessment conducted by Monte Carlo simulation showed that the highest risk through dermal absorption in individuals in the study area was for Naphthalene (24 x 10(-11) to 15 x 10(-11) mg/kg/day). Among the heavy metals studied, dermal absorption of chromium (Cr) (24 x 10(-5) mg/kg/day) at one station showed the highest risk for exposed individuals. In general, the average concentration of contaminants was lower than the WHO limit and only small amounts of TPH contaminants leaked into the soil, which was statistically significant (p < 0.032). Although high TPH concentrations do not necessarily mean a serious risk of contaminant leakage into groundwater, significant amounts of TPH remain in the soil.