Health risk assessment of heavy metals and disinfection by-products in drinking water in megacities in China: A study based on age groups and Monte Carlo simulations

作者：Shoudao Zhao, Yiwei Gong, Shuwen Yang, Shaoyang Chen, Di Huang, Kai Yang, Hongguang Cheng · 发表于：Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115330 · 被引用次数：18 · 研究领域：Water Treatment and Disinfection、Water Quality and Pollution Assessment、Heavy metals in environment

Heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) and disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water pose risks to human health and jeopardize drinking water. Water-related behaviors vary significantly among different age groups and regions. In this study, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of HMs (As, Cd, Cr6+, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and DBPs (bromodichloromethane (BDCM), bromoform, chloroform, dibromochloromethane (DBCM), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA), and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA)) in drinking water in two Chinese megacities (Beijing in North China and Guangzhou in South China) via multiple exposure pathways were assessed. The results showed that children aged 9 months to 2 years had a total carcinogenic risk (TCR) and hazard index (HI) above acceptable levels, indicating that despite the drinking water quality in the selected megacities meeting the current Chinese national standards (GB 5749–2022), the health risks of exposure to HMs and DBPs in drinking water for local young children should not be neglected. Specifically, the carcinogenic risk (CR) of exposure to As in drinking water for children < 18-years-old, who were divided into different age groups, was 1.5–2.0- and 4.5–5.9-times higher than the TCR of exposure to DBPs in Beijing and Guangzhou, respectively. Regarding children aged 9 months to 2 years, the exposure to TCAA accounted for the largest proportion (35.6 %) of the TCR of exposure to DBPs in Beijing drinking water, 5.4-times higher than that in Guangzhou; whereas, the TCR of ...