Drinking water risks

Touraud E, Roig B, Sumpter JP, Coetsier C (2011) Drug residues and endocrine disrupters in drinking water risk for humans Int J Hyg Environ Health 214 437-441... 

Similarly, unit risk estimates for lifetime exposures can be made for inhalation (riskperpgm air breathed) and drinking water (risk per pg 1 water). Unit risks are potencies in terms of the equation above, risk = dose x q, and in this case... 

Serre ML, Kolovos A, Christakos G, Modis K. An application of the holistochastic human exposure methodology to naturally occurring arsenic in Bangladesh drinking water. Risk Anal 2003 23 515-28. 

The odor perception threshold for benzene in water is 2 mg/L. The benzene drinking water risk is 8.3 x 10 /(pg-L). Calculate the potential benzene intake rate [mg benzene/(kg day)] and the cumulative cancer risk from drinking water with benzene concentrations at half of its odor threshold for a 30-year exposure duration. Use the following equation for estimating the benzene ingestion rate ... 

The relationship between assessed risks from lead in drinking water, risk reduction programmes and compliance with the lead standards of the Directive. 

E. Touraud, B. Roig, J. P. Sumpter and C. Coetsier, Drug residues and endocrine disruptors in drinking water risk for humans , Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health, 2011, 214, 437—441. 

P. A. Fenner-Crisp, "Risk Assessment Methods for Pesticides in Food and Drinking Water," Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, presented at the Florida Pesticide Review Council Meeting, July 7, 1989. 

Atrazine and simazine arose principally as a result of their use in amenity situations but, since their ban for non-agriciiltiiral purposes, concentrations are generally declining. Fiowever, atrazine and simazine still have some agricultural uses (atrazine on maize and simazine on a wide range of crops), so the risk of pollution still exists when these pesticides are applied in either groundwater or surface water drinking water supply catchments. 

The nature of the conditions of intensive production, however, can increase the risk of diseases and infections which can spread very rapidly and devastate large numbers of animals." Thus it is common practice for producers of poultry to add coccidiostats to their diets and vaccines to their drinking water in order to prevent coccidiosis and other infectious diseases such as bronchitis and Newcastle disease. A similar problem exists for intensively reared fish, where it is necessary to add antibiotics to their diets. A problem with intensively reared fish is that their diet is added directly into the water in which they live thus drugs and other additives in the diet are relatively easily dispersed into the local environment of fish farms, where they can increase bacterial resistance and also cause problems such as algal blooms. 

EPA must first make determinations about which contaminants to regulate. These determinations are based on health risks and the likelihood that the contaminant occurs in public water systems at levels of concern. The National Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL), published March 2, 1998, lists contaminants that (1) are not already regulated under SDWA (2) may have adverse health effects (3) are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and (4) may require regulations under SDWA. Contaminants on the CCL are divided into priorities for regulation, health research and occurrence data collection. 

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) - The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety and are non-enforceable public health goals. 

Strongly hepatotoxic cyclic heptapeptides produced by some species of freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) (28). These microcystins represent a health risk to humans through drinking water, since they have been found to act as tumor promoters (29). Several chromatographic analytical procedures for microcystins have been... 

Monte Carlo simulation, an iterative technique which derives a range of risk estimates, was incorporated into a trichloroethylene risk assessment using the PBPK model developed by Fisher and Allen (1993). The results of this study (Cronin et al. 1995), which used the kinetics of TCA production and trichloroethylene elimination as the dose metrics relevant to carcinogenic risk, indicated that concentrations of 0.09-1.0 pg/L (men) and 0.29-5.3 pg/L (women) in drinking water correspond to a cancer risk in humans of 1 in 1 million. For inhalation exposure, a similar risk was obtained from intermittent exposure to 0.07-13.3 ppb (men) and 0.16-6.3 ppb (women), or continuous exposure to 0.01-2.6 ppb (men) and 0.03-6.3 ppb (women) (Cronin et al. 1995). 

Reproductive Effects. Operating room nurses exposed to trichloroethylene have been reported to have an increased incidence of miscarriages, but they were exposed to many other anesthetics as well (Corbett et al. 1974). Survey results of 1,926 women who had spontaneous abortions revealed a greater risk of abortion associated with trichloroethylene exposure (Windham et al. 1991). This study is limited by multiple chemical exposure. Humans exposed to trichloroethylene in the drinking water in certain areas of the country have not shown adverse reproductive effects (Byers et al. 1988 Freni and Bloomer 1988 Lagakos et al. 1986a). 

Bogen KT, Hall LC, Perry L, et al. 1988. Health risk assessment of trichloroethylene (TCE) in California drinking water. Livermore, CA University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division. NTIS No. DE88-005364. 

Cotruvo JA. 1988. Drinking water standards and risk assessment. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 8 288-299. 

Vartiainen T, Pukkala E, Rienoja T, et al. 1993. Population exposure to tri- and tetrachloroethylene and cancer risk Two cases of drinking water pollution. Chemosphere 27 1171-1181. 

ADI = acceptable daily intake, estimate of amount of a substance in food or drinking water, expressed as mg/kg body weight, that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable risk (weight of standard human = 60 kg) bw = body weight. 

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