Spatial Analysis of Human Health Risk Due to Arsenic Exposure through Drinking Groundwater in Taiwan's Pingtung Plain. 2017

Ching-Ping Liang, and Yi-Chi Chien, and Cheng-Shin Jang, and Ching-Fang Chen, and Jui-Sheng Chen
Department of Nursing, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung 831, Taiwan. sc048@fy.edu.tw.

Chronic arsenic (As) exposure continues to be a public health problem of major concern worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of people. A long-term groundwater quality survey has revealed that 20% of the groundwater in southern Taiwan's Pingtung Plain is clearly contaminated with a measured As concentration in excess of the maximum level of 10 µg/L recommended by the World Health Organization. The situation is further complicated by the fact that more than half of the inhabitants in this area continue to use groundwater for drinking. Efforts to assess the health risk associated with the ingestion of As from the contaminated drinking water are required in order to determine the priorities for health risk management. The conventional approach to conducting a human health risk assessment may be insufficient for this purpose, so this study adopts a geostatistical Kriging method to perform a spatial analysis of the health risk associated with ingesting As through drinking groundwater in the Pingtung Plain. The health risk is assessed based on the hazard quotient (HQ) and target cancer risk (TR) established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The results show that most areas where the HQ exceeds 1 are in the southwestern part of the study area. In addition, the high-population density townships of Daliao, Linyuan, Donggang, Linbian, Jiadong, and Fangliao presently have exceedingly high TR values that are two orders of magnitude higher than the acceptable standard. Thus, the use of groundwater for drinking in these townships should be strictly avoided. A map that delineates areas with high TR values and high population densities is provided. The findings broaden the scope of the spatial analysis of human health risk and provide a basis for improving the decision-making process.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D004781 Environmental Exposure The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals. Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D004784 Environmental Monitoring The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment. Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D005843 Geography The science dealing with the earth and its life, especially the description of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including humanity and human industries with reference to the mutual relations of these elements. (From Webster, 3d ed) Factor, Geographic,Factors, Geographic,Geographic Factor,Geographic Factors,Geography, Human,Human Geography
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001151 Arsenic A shiny gray element with atomic symbol As, atomic number 33, and atomic weight 75. It occurs throughout the universe, mostly in the form of metallic arsenides. Most forms are toxic. According to the Fourth Annual Report on Carcinogens (NTP 85-002, 1985), arsenic and certain arsenic compounds have been listed as known carcinogens. (From Merck Index, 11th ed) Arsenic-75,Arsenic 75
D013624 Taiwan Country in eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China. The capital is Taipei. The alternate country name is Republic of China. Formosa,Republic of China
D014874 Water Pollutants, Chemical Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water. Chemical Water Pollutants,Landfill Leachate,Leachate, Landfill,Pollutants, Chemical Water
D060587 Groundwater Liquid water present beneath the surface of the earth. Aquifers,Ground Water,Ground-Water,Subterranean Lakes,Underground Lakes,Underground Streams,Underground Water,Water Table,Aquifer,Ground Waters,Ground-Waters,Groundwaters,Lake, Subterranean,Lake, Underground,Lakes, Subterranean,Lakes, Underground,Stream, Underground,Streams, Underground,Subterranean Lake,Table, Water,Tables, Water,Underground Lake,Underground Stream,Underground Waters,Water Tables,Water, Underground,Waters, Underground
D060766 Drinking Water Water that is intended to be ingested. Bottled Water,Potable Water,Water, Bottled,Water, Drinking,Water, Potable
D062206 Spatial Analysis Investigative techniques which measure the topological, geometric, and or geographic properties of the entities studied. Kernel Density Estimation,Kriging,Spacial Analysis,Spatial Autocorrelation,Spatial Dependency,Spatial Interpolation,Analyses, Spacial,Analyses, Spatial,Analysis, Spacial,Analysis, Spatial,Autocorrelation, Spatial,Autocorrelations, Spatial,Density Estimation, Kernel,Density Estimations, Kernel,Dependencies, Spatial,Dependency, Spatial,Estimation, Kernel Density,Estimations, Kernel Density,Interpolation, Spatial,Interpolations, Spatial,Kernel Density Estimations,Krigings,Spacial Analyses,Spatial Analyses,Spatial Autocorrelations,Spatial Dependencies,Spatial Interpolations

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