Drinking Water Uranium and Potential Health Effects in the German Federal State of Bavaria. 2017

Andre Banning, and Mira Benfer
Hydrogeology Department, Institute of Geology, Geophysics and Mineralogy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany. andre.banning@rub.de.

Mainly due to its nephrotoxic and osteotoxic potential, uranium (U) increasingly finds itself in the spotlight of environmental and health-related research. Germany decided on a binding U guideline value in drinking water of 10 µg/L, valid since 2011. It is yet widely unknown if and how public health was affected by elevated U concentrations before that. In this ecological study we summarized available drinking water U data for the German federal state of Bavaria (703 analyses in total for 553 different municipalities) at county level (for 76 out of 96 Bavarian counties, representing about 83% of Bavaria's and about 13% of Germany's total population) in terms of mean and maximum U concentration. Bavaria is known to regionally exhibit mainly geogenically elevated groundwater U with a maximum value of 40 µg/L in the database used here. Public health data were obtained from federal statistical authorities at county resolution. These included incidence rates of diagnosed diseases suspected to be potentially associated with chronic U uptake, e.g., diseases of the skeleton, the liver or the thyroid as well as tumor and genito-urinary diseases. The datasets were analyzed for interrelations and mutual spatial occurrence using statistical approaches and GIS as well as odds ratios and relative risks calculations. Weak but significant positive associations between maximum U concentrations and aggregated ICD-10 diagnose groups for growths/tumors as well as liver diseases were observed, elevated incidence rates of thyroid diseases seem to occur where mean drinking water U concentrations exceed 2 µg/L. Here, we discuss obtained results and their implications for potential impacts of hydrochemistry on public health in southeast Germany.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007674 Kidney Diseases Pathological processes of the KIDNEY or its component tissues. Disease, Kidney,Diseases, Kidney,Kidney Disease
D007938 Leukemia A progressive, malignant disease of the blood-forming organs, characterized by distorted proliferation and development of leukocytes and their precursors in the blood and bone marrow. Leukemias were originally termed acute or chronic based on life expectancy but now are classified according to cellular maturity. Acute leukemias consist of predominately immature cells; chronic leukemias are composed of more mature cells. (From The Merck Manual, 2006) Leucocythaemia,Leucocythemia,Leucocythaemias,Leucocythemias,Leukemias
D008175 Lung Neoplasms Tumors or cancer of the LUNG. Cancer of Lung,Lung Cancer,Pulmonary Cancer,Pulmonary Neoplasms,Cancer of the Lung,Neoplasms, Lung,Neoplasms, Pulmonary,Cancer, Lung,Cancer, Pulmonary,Cancers, Lung,Cancers, Pulmonary,Lung Cancers,Lung Neoplasm,Neoplasm, Lung,Neoplasm, Pulmonary,Pulmonary Cancers,Pulmonary Neoplasm
D008297 Male Males
D011634 Public Health Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level. Community Health,Environment, Preventive Medicine & Public Health,Environment, Preventive Medicine and Public Health,Health, Community,Health, Public
D011834 Radiation Monitoring The observation, either continuously or at intervals, of the levels of radiation in a given area, generally for the purpose of assuring that they have not exceeded prescribed amounts or, in case of radiation already present in the area, assuring that the levels have returned to those meeting acceptable safety standards. Monitoring, Radiation
D005260 Female Females
D005858 Germany A country in central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. The capital is Berlin.
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000069079 Radiation Exposure Phenomenon in which organisms are subjected to radiation. Exposure, Radiation

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