Assessing drinking water quality and health risks of contaminants in the coastal areas of Cambodia

Abstract

Abstract The present study aimed to assess the health risks of chemical contaminants of residents in the coastal areas of Cambodia through their drinking water pathways. Water was sampled from tube wells (n= 22), dug wells (n= 31), ponds (n= 11), canals (n= 12) and lakes (n= 4) across the Cambodian coastal areas, and measured for the contaminants of health concern (As, Cu, Cr, Cd, F−, NO2-, NO3-, Pb, Escherichia coli and total coliform) and aesthetic quality following the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and standard methods. Analytical results reveal that 9.1% of tube wells and 9.7% of dug wells contained As > 0.01 mg/L. Appropriately, 22.7% of tube wells and 32.3% of dug wells contained Fe > 0.3 mg/L while 100% of tube wells and 80.6% of dug wells contained Mn > 0.1 mg/L. Health risk assessment found that the hazard quotient (HQ) > 1 for children and women. Additionally, the lifetime cancer risk (LCR) was found >1 × 10−4 for As in Cambodian coastal areas. Therefore, a monitoring programme and appropriate treatment to remove contaminants like arsenic, cadmium and fluoride would be required to ensure a safe drinking water supply to Cambodian coastal residents.