Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Exposure to lead (Pb) through drinking water has been linked to adverse health outcomes. Children are particularly susceptible. This study was designed to measure Pb contamination level in drinking water of the Ethiopian city Addis Ababa and assess the associated health risks. Eighty-eight fully-flu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021020491 |
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| author | Yohannes Tesfaye Endale Argaw Ambelu Geremew Sahilu G. Bernd Mees Gijs Du Laing |
| author_facet | Yohannes Tesfaye Endale Argaw Ambelu Geremew Sahilu G. Bernd Mees Gijs Du Laing |
| author_sort | Yohannes Tesfaye Endale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Exposure to lead (Pb) through drinking water has been linked to adverse health outcomes. Children are particularly susceptible. This study was designed to measure Pb contamination level in drinking water of the Ethiopian city Addis Ababa and assess the associated health risks. Eighty-eight fully-flushed drinking water samples were collected from all ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa. Pb concentration was measured using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The chronic daily intake (CDI), the hazard quotient (HQ), and the cancer risk (CR) of Pb were determined to assess exposure levels and health effects. Blood lead level (B–Pb) for children was modelled using the integrated exposure uptake biokinetic model (IEUBK). The mean concentration of Pb in the drinking water was 17.8 μg/l, where >50% of the samples exceeded WHO's 10 μg/l guideline. Significant spatial variation of Pb was noticed among sub-cities. The mean CDI was 1.43 and 0.59 μg/kg/day for children and adults, respectively. The HQ showed that 8% of children and 2.3% of adults exceeded the safe limit. The predicted geometric mean of B–Pb ranged from 3.23 to 14.65 μg/dl. The risk of a child having a B–Pb level >5 μg/dl at the median water Pb concentration (10.5 μg/l) was estimated at 13.4%. Based on the 95th percentile Pb concentration (75.1 μg/l), 89.6% of children would have B–Pb levels above the 5 μg/dl threshold. The estimated CR was found in the range of 1 × 10−7 to 9.9 × 10−5; hence cancer risks are not a concern. The study concluded that Addis Ababa's drinking water is likely to be a source of lead exposure where consumers at specific city locations are at risk of numerous non-cancer health effects. The impacts are expected to be severe in the Ethiopian context; hence further investigations and coordinated interventions are required. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-240f60fb49714867bde6602f8b72ba5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T07:36:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-240f60fb49714867bde6602f8b72ba5e2022-12-21T18:33:52ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402021-09-0179e07946Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, EthiopiaYohannes Tesfaye Endale0Argaw Ambelu1Geremew Sahilu G.2Bernd Mees3Gijs Du Laing4Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box: 56402, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Corresponding author.Department of Environmental Health Science & Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Jimma University, P.O.Box: 807, EthiopiaAddis Ababa Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaFaculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653 - B-9000, Gent, BelgiumFaculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653 - B-9000, Gent, BelgiumExposure to lead (Pb) through drinking water has been linked to adverse health outcomes. Children are particularly susceptible. This study was designed to measure Pb contamination level in drinking water of the Ethiopian city Addis Ababa and assess the associated health risks. Eighty-eight fully-flushed drinking water samples were collected from all ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa. Pb concentration was measured using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The chronic daily intake (CDI), the hazard quotient (HQ), and the cancer risk (CR) of Pb were determined to assess exposure levels and health effects. Blood lead level (B–Pb) for children was modelled using the integrated exposure uptake biokinetic model (IEUBK). The mean concentration of Pb in the drinking water was 17.8 μg/l, where >50% of the samples exceeded WHO's 10 μg/l guideline. Significant spatial variation of Pb was noticed among sub-cities. The mean CDI was 1.43 and 0.59 μg/kg/day for children and adults, respectively. The HQ showed that 8% of children and 2.3% of adults exceeded the safe limit. The predicted geometric mean of B–Pb ranged from 3.23 to 14.65 μg/dl. The risk of a child having a B–Pb level >5 μg/dl at the median water Pb concentration (10.5 μg/l) was estimated at 13.4%. Based on the 95th percentile Pb concentration (75.1 μg/l), 89.6% of children would have B–Pb levels above the 5 μg/dl threshold. The estimated CR was found in the range of 1 × 10−7 to 9.9 × 10−5; hence cancer risks are not a concern. The study concluded that Addis Ababa's drinking water is likely to be a source of lead exposure where consumers at specific city locations are at risk of numerous non-cancer health effects. The impacts are expected to be severe in the Ethiopian context; hence further investigations and coordinated interventions are required.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021020491LeadDrinking waterBlood lead levelHealth riskExposureAddis Ababa |
| spellingShingle | Yohannes Tesfaye Endale Argaw Ambelu Geremew Sahilu G. Bernd Mees Gijs Du Laing Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Heliyon Lead Drinking water Blood lead level Health risk Exposure Addis Ababa |
| title | Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of pb contaminated water in addis ababa ethiopia |
| topic | Lead Drinking water Blood lead level Health risk Exposure Addis Ababa |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021020491 |
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