Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in aquatic sediments and freshwater fish caught from Thamirabarani River, the Western Ghats of South Tamil Nadu

Industrialization and advancements in agriculture are increasingly the cause of environmental concerns and need to be addressed. This study was carried out at four sampling sites, viz. Manimuthar (site 1), Tirunelveli (site 2), Srivaikuntam (site 3), and Authoor (site 4), along the Thamirabarani river. The heavy metal concentration in fish and sediments were ranged from 0.001 to 9.505 mg kg(-1) and 0.294 to 106.25 mg kg(-1). The lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values for children and adults were found to be above the acceptable threshold value (ATV) and children were found to be more susceptible to health risks. For all sites except site 4, the LCR of toxic metals except Cd were within the ATV (10(-6)-10(-4)); the value of Cd was above the ATV, and poses a high cancer risk to the downstream inhabitants. This study advises routine heavy metal monitoring on aquatic organisms along these sites to implement regulatory standards.