Risk-based assessment of arsenic-affected aquacultural water in blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas

Abstract

This work explored a risk-based arsenic (As) regulation in farmed pond water by ingesting tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) in blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas and discussed a rational As regulation in pond water. Monte Carlo analysis was used to propagate the parameter uncertainty and to assess probabilistically regulation risks. A dynamic scheme of groundwater management was proposed that curves of utilization ratios against As concentrations in groundwater were established based on the risk-based regulation. The 5th to 95th percentiles of risks range from 3.5 9 10 -7 to 6.0 9 10 -5 via ingesting the farmed tilapia under the current As regulation in farmed pond water in Taiwan, 50 lg/L. To compare to inorganic As regulation in drinking water, the current As regulation in farmed pond water does not pose a great threat to human health, but it is unsafe. Therefore, this study suggests that the regulation of As in farmed pond water is revised to be 25 lg/L.

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

“…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].…”