An integrated GIS‐based approach in assessing carcinogenic risks via food‐chain exposure in arsenic‐affected groundwater areas

Abstract

This study presented an integrated GIS-based approach for assessing potential carcinogenic risks via food-chain exposure of ingesting inorganic arsenic (As) in aquacultural tilapia, milkfish, mullet, and clam in the As-affected groundwater areas. To integrate spatial information, geographic information system (GIS) was adopted to combine polygon-shaped features of aquacultural species with cell-shaped features of As contamination in groundwater. Owing to sparse measured data, Monte Carlo simulation and sequential indicator simulation were used to characterize the uncertainty of assessed parameters. Target cancer risks (TRs) of ingesting As contents at fish ponds were spatially mapped to assess potential risks to human health. The analyzed results reveal that clam farmed at the western coastal ponds and milkfish farmed at the southwestern coastal ponds have high risks to human health, whereas tilapia cultivated mainly at the inland ponds only has high risks at the 95th percentile of TR. Mullet in general has low risks to human health. Moreover, to decrease risks, this study suggests reducing the use of As-affected groundwater at clam and milkfish ponds due to high bioconcentration factor (BCF) of clam and inorganic As accumulation ratio of milkfish. The integrated GIS-based approach can provide fishery administrators with an effective management strategy at specific fish ponds with high risks to human health.

Spatial Analysis of Human Health Risk Due to Arsenic Exposure through Drinking Groundwater in Taiwan’s Pingtung Plain

“…Contaminated groundwater is also being used for aquaculture. The accumulation of As in farmed fish and seafood pose a potential threat to human health [ 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Figure 9 shows fishpond locations in the study area.…”

“…Nowadays, most local residents in southern Taiwan consume tap water processed by the public water company, but a large amount of As-contaminated groundwater is still used for aquaculture. As can accumulate in the tissue of farmed fish and shellfish and recent studies have been carried out to evaluate exposure to As through the consumption of seafood in Taiwan and the related health risk assessment [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

Statistical Features and Expert Knowledge for Monitoring Operating Efficiency and Conditions of Wastewater Treatment Pumps

“…The proposed methodology was applied to a WWTP for the monitoring of operating efficiencies of an influent pump. The power consumption of influent pump generally accounts for 10% to 20% of the total power consumption of a WWTP [19]. Therefore, an effective monitoring of the operating conditions of the influent pump and the maintenance of good pump efficiencies can contribute to save energy and maintain normal pump operation.…”

Assessing and managing the health risk due to ingestion of inorganic arsenic from fish and shellfish farmed in blackfoot disease areas for general Taiwanese

“…The highest dietary As intake (217.7 g/day) came from the consumption of fish and seafood, as indicated by Falcó et al [4]. Farmed fish/shrimp bioaccumulates certain amounts of As from aquaculture-used As-contaminated groundwater [5][6][7]. In recent years, several studies have investigated the amounts of As species contents in seafood to assess the risk of cancer associated with consuming aquatic products obtained from As-contaminated groundwater areas of local inhabitants, such as the coastal regions of southwestern Taiwan [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”