Journal of Water and Health Vol 5 No 4 pp 511–522 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wh.2007.046
Multipathway risk assessment of trihalomethane exposure in drinking water of Lebanon
Lucy Semerjian and John Dennis
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon Tel.: +961 1 34 79 52Fax: +961 1 74 44 62ls07@aub.edu.lb
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
ABSTRACT
The toxicological risks and lifetime cancer risks of trihalomethanes through oral ingestion, dermal absorption, and inhalation exposure from tap water in selected regions in Lebanon are estimated. Existing trihalomethane concentrations do not pose any non-carcinogenic and developmental risks in the exposed population via oral ingestion. Among the three pathways, residents have a higher risk of cancer through oral ingestion than through the other two pathways. The lifetime cancer risk through oral ingestion for dibromochloromethane makes the highest contribution to total risks, followed by bromodichloromethane, bromoform, and chloroform. The total multipathway cancer risk analysis suggests that no cancer risks exist during the summer and winter seasons; however, in the spring the total cancer risks exceeds the USEPA acceptable level of 10-6 by a factor of 10.7.
Keywords: drinking water; Lebanon; multipathway; risk assessment; trihalomethanes
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