Abstract: Twenty-two water parameters of groundwater collected from six large coal-mining areas in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia of China, including physical and chemical properties, major ions and potential toxic elements (PTE) (As, Hg, Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn and Ni), were investigated with automatic water analyzer, ion chromatography (IC), atomic fluorescence analyzer (AFS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The pollution status and health risk were evaluated by fuzzy comprehensive method and USEPA chemical carcinogens model,respectively. Results showed that the ground water (below 300 m) ranked the first grade in water quality according to the standard of GB/T 14848-93. The contents of main cations and anionsdecreased as Mg²⁺>Na⁺>Ca²⁺>K⁺ and SO₄²>Cl^->NO₃^->F^-. SO₄·Cl-Na and bicarbonate were the main water types. Although the cancer and non-cancer risk of most PTEs exposure to adults and children were within acceptable limits, the PTEs Cr and As were more likely to cause health risks to children and adults than other elements. Moreover, Cr had a greater cancer risk forchildren compared to As for adults. It is important to note that the health risk from PTEs tochildren was greater than that to adults. The total health risks of PTEs in groundwater fromHalagou, Wangqugou and Guadiwan coal mine areas exceeded the critical load of 5.0×10^-5 a^-1 recommended by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Our resultshighlight that more attention should be paid on the health risk of PTEs in groundwater from those areas.

Key words: ecological security pattern, Tang County, ecological source, habitat quality, ecological corridor