Nitrate contamination and associated health risks of the Benslimane groundwater, Morocco

Groundwater nitrate contamination has been a subject of concern because nitrate salts can induce infant methemoglobinemia and possibly human gastric cancer. In general, nitrates in drinking water may not be the main component of total nitrate intake, but nitrate-contaminated drinking water can make an important contribution to total nitrate intake. In this paper, a nitrate risk-assessment methodology is developed to assist decision makers in estimating human health risks corresponding to a particular nitrate dose to humans and in determining whether regulatory action must be taken to reduce the health risks. The case of a community with a nitrate water quality problem is used to illustrate the nitrate risk assessment methodology. The uncertainty associated with assessing health risks of nitrate and its impact on results are represented by using a fuzzy-set approach and incorporated into the nitrate risk assessment methodology. Therefore, a nitrate risk assessment can be made that is more realistic and appropriate than the one made without taking uncertainty into account.

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Nitrate contamination of groundwater in the Lower Volta River Basin of Ghana: Sources and related human health risks

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety ◽

10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110227 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 191 ◽

pp. 110227 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Courage D. Egbi ◽

Geophrey K. Anornu ◽

Samuel Y. Ganyaglo ◽

Emmanuel K. Appiah-Adjei ◽

Si-Liang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

River Basin ◽

Health Risks ◽

Nitrate Contamination ◽

Human Health Risks

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Rural population health risks caused by nitrate contamination of locally grown vegetables

Science and Innovations in Medicine ◽

10.35693/2500-1388-2021-6-4-40-44 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 40-44

Author(s):

Yurii Yu. Eliseev ◽

Igor I. Berezin ◽

Nina N. Pichugina ◽

Artem K. Sergeev

Keyword(s):

Health Risks ◽

Rural Population ◽

Well Being ◽

Carcinogenic Risk ◽

Nitrate Contamination ◽

General Level ◽

Malignant Neoplasms ◽

Saratov Region ◽

Vegetable Products ◽

Agricultural Areas

Objectives to assess the levels of health risks in the rural population associated with the consumption of local vegetables contaminated with nitrates. Material and methods. We established the concentration of nitrates in local vegetables, grown on farms and private subsidiary plots of agricultural areas of the region using a retrospective analysis of the statistics from the Office of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor) in the Saratov region and our own research results. The health risks in the rural population from exposure to nitrates in local vegetables were assessed according to the Risk Assessment Guidelines (R 2.1.10. 1920-04). Results. It was revealed that local vegetable products are widely used in the diet of the rural population of the agricultural areas of the Saratov region, amounting to 203.422.5 kg/year per adult resident. Significant differences were revealed in the nitrate contamination of vegetables grown by farmers and on private subsidiary plots of agricultural areas of the Saratov region. Discussion. The high nitrate load detected in vegetable products of farms was determined by a significant amount of fertilizers applied to the soil in the form of ammonium nitrate. On the contrary, the use of special biomass from plants of the legume family by workers of personal subsidiary farms for feeding the growing vegetables, made it possible to obtain vegetable products with a significantly lower quantitative content of nitrates. Conclusion. The assessment of the hazard coefficients of nitrates in vegetable products of the studied areas testified to the possible effect of the nitrate component on the health of the local population. The individual carcinogenic risk caused by nitrate contamination of local vegetables was assessed as low; the population carcinogenic risk value associated with the presence of nitrates in vegetables had the possibility to contribute from 0.01 to 1.3 additional cases of malignant neoplasms to the general level of oncological morbidity in the population of the surveyed territories.

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