Abstract
We assessed health risks related to Arsenic (As) in contaminated drinking water in Hanam, applying the Australian Environmental Health Risk Assessment Framework, which promotes stakeholder involvement in risk assessments. As concentrations in 300 tube-well water samples, before and after filtration, were analyzed and the water consumption levels in 150 households were estimated. Skin cancer risk was characterized using Cancer Slope Factor index and lifetime average daily dose with a probabilistic approach. The results showed that arsenic concentrations in tube-well water ranged from 8–579 ppb (mean 301 ppb) before filtration and current sand filters used by the households did not meet the standard for As removal. Arsenic daily consumption of 40% of the adults exceeded the level of TDI (Tolerable Daily Intake) at 1 µg/kg/day. The average skin cancer risk in adults due to consuming filtered tube-well water for drinking purpose were 25.3 × 10−5 (using only well water) and 7.6 × 10−5 (using both well and rain water). The skin cancer risk would be 11.5 times higher if the water was not filtered. Improvement of filtration measures or the replacement of the current drinking water sources to minimize the health risks to the local population is urgently needed.
Highlights
Arsenic contamination in drinking water is of great concern for public health because of its effects on human health
The results showed that arsenic concentrations in tube-well water ranged from 8–579 ppb
The results showed that tube-well water in Chuyen Ngoai Commune was heavily contaminated with arsenic
Summary
Arsenic contamination in drinking water is of great concern for public health because of its effects on human health. Researchers in the last decades have shown that the risks of having cancers were higher among people who had regular exposure to high arsenic concentrations in the environment [3,4]. This is similar to the findings from. Arsenic in drinking water is a severe public health risk in Vietnam where UNICEF estimates there are approximately 10–15 million people (about 13.5% of the population) using drinking water from tube wells. Studies have shown that arsenic contamination in groundwater is concentrated in a number of provinces in the Red River Delta, Northern Vietnam [10]
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