A Comprehensive Screening of Toxic Heavy Metals in the Water of FATA (Pakistan)

Water adulteration is one of the serious concerns in Pakistan. Among 122 nations, Pakistan is positioned at rank 80 to provide water for drinking purposes. Water reservoirs including surface and groundwater are adulterated with toxic metals throughout the country. The acceptable limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak EPA), Health risk indicators are the Chronic Daily Intake (CDI), and the Health Risk Index (HRI) is consistently contravened. The main origin of heavy metals is industrial discharge, disposal of municipal waste, and use of agrochemicals are the main sources of water adulteration. This review discusses a brief layout of toxic heavy metals in water in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Pakistan with a special insistence on heavy metal contamination. The data assembled in this review are obtained from different research articles published in national and international journals on toxic heavy metals in the particular region. Toxic heavy metals that as copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), (Fe) Iron, and manganese (Mn) are the most significant hazardous contaminants in different regions of FATA (Pakistan). The accumulation of heavy metals in the water reservoirs causes serious health risks to all living beings. This review is on the heavy metal in the water of different areas of FATA (Pakistan) in the last few years. The levels of heavy metal adulteration in different water sources were collected from various regions of FATA agencies. The research articles of respective authors helped to determine the heavy metal concentration mentioned in the standard literature. The determined concentration of some heavy metals was found safe mentioned by organizations that as the WHO, USEPA, EUC, and EPA. This review article aims to study the concentration of heavy metals in water sources of FATA (Pakistan).