OCCUPATION AND HEALTH ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (17): 2378-2381.

• Treatise • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Health risk assessment of 17 chemical substances in drinking water in Huai'an City in 2022

YANG Juan1, WANG Qi2, CHEN Xiaomin2, CHEN Guocai2, LUO Shancai2, ZHANG Wen2   

  1. 1. Department of Health Administration,Xiongan New Area Center for Public Health Service,Xiongan,Hebei 071701,China;
    2. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene,Huai'an Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Huai'an,Jiangsu 223003,China
  • Received:2024-12-28 Revised:2025-01-14 Online:2025-09-01 Published:2025-12-13

Abstract: Objective To understand the content of 17 chemical substances such as arsenic and cadmium in the drinking water in Huai'an City in 2022,and evaluate their potential risks to human health through drinking water routes. Methods Totally 825 drinking water samples were collected from various counties and districts in Huai'an City in 2022. The health risk assessment model recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency was used to evaluate the health risks of 17 chemical substances. T-test was used to compare the health risks differences of 17 chemical substances in different types of drinking water. Results The qualified rates of 17 chemicals in drinking water in Huai'an City were 100%,in which mercury and volatile phenols were not detected. The carcinogenic risks of cadmium,hexavalent chromium,arsenic,trichloromethane and carbon tetrachloride in drinking water were 9.14×10-7/a,8.74×10-7/a,7.40×10-7/a,2.66×10-7/a,2.87×10-9/a,respectively,and the cumulative carcinogenic risk value was 2.80×10-6/a,which was within an acceptable range. The non-carcinogenic risks of chemicals substances in drinking water,from high to low,were fluoride,nitrate nitrogen,lead,mercury,copper,selenium,ammonia nitrogen,iron,zinc,cyanide,manganese,and volatile phenols,which were 4.89×10-9/a,4.75×10-10/a,4.27×10-10/a,7.87×10-11/a,4.30×10-11/a,2.48×10-11/a,2.15×10-11/a, 2.00×10-11/a,1.67×10-11/a,1.43×10-11/a,1.30×10-11/a,1.57×10-12/a,respectively,and the cumulative non-carcinogenic risk value was 6.03×10-9/a,which was a negligible level. The carcinogenic risk of 5 chemicals(including cadmium,hexavalent chromium,arsenic,trichloromethane,and carbon tetrachloride) and the non-carcinogenic risk of 5 chemicals(including selenium,fluoride,iron,manganese and copper) were higher in wet season than in dry season(all P<0.05). The carcinogenic risk of arsenic and trichloromethane and the non-carcinogenic risk of selenium and zinc in finished water,were lower than that of tap water(all P<0.05). Conclusion The carcinogenic risk caused by the exposure of 5 chemical substances in drinking water through the water route in Huai'an City in 2022 was in acceptable range,which needs high attention. Among them,cadmium and hexavalent chromium were the main chemical substances of health risk in drinking water in Huai'an,and the non-carcinogenic risk caused by the exposure of 12 chemical substances was at a negligible level.

Key words: Drinking water, Chemical substances, Health risk assessment

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