ASSESSMENT OF CARCINOGENIC RISK TO POPULATION HEALTH DUE TO HIGH ARSENIC CONTENT IN DRINKING ARTESIAN WATER OF THE NORTH DAGESTAN

Abstract

The northern part of the Republic of Daghestan is characterized by high levels of arsenic in artesian drinking water due to peculiarities of the chemical composition of the water-bearing plateaus. The concentrations of arsenic in water samples ranged from 0.01mg/l to 0.5 mg/l. According to current guidelines for arsenic of 0.01mg/l, the excess in the level of arsenic in water was detected to 20-fold or more in 12 villages with the total population of 15 827 people. To evaluate the cancer health risks from exposure to arsenic we used еру risk assessment method. Lifetime individual cancer risks were shown to be at the minimum concentration (0.01mg/l) - 4.3E-4; at maximum concentration (0.5 mg / l) -2.1E-2, respectively, with a mean of 0.14 mg/l - 6.0E-3. The cancer health risks results were found to be higher than permissible value of 1∙10-6. For the exposed population (309,700 people) annual population cancer health risks ranged from 1 to 94.8 additional cases of possible occurrence of cancer. The results of this study revealed areas with high levels of arsenic in drinking water and determined the exposed portion of population to recognize the implementation of measures for the mitigation of risks.