Cancer and Non-Cancer Risk Assessment from Exposure to Arsenic, Copper, and Cadmium in Borehole, Tap, and Surface Water in the Obuasi Municipality, Ghana

• Published in: Human and ecological risk assessment Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 651 - 665
• Main Authors: Obiri, S., Dodoo, D. K., Essumang, D. K., Armah, F. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boca Raton Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2010; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adults; Arsenic; borehole and tap water; Cadmium; Cancer; cancer and non-cancer health risks; Children; Copper; Ecological risk assessment; Ghana; hazard index; Health; Health hazards; Human; Human exposure; Risk; Risk assessment; River Nyam; River Supu; Surface water; Ghana; USA
• ISSN: 1080-7039; 1549-7860
• DOI: 10.1080/10807031003788907

Cancer and non-cancer risk assessment from exposure to As, Cd, and Cu by resident adults and children from different water sources in Obuasi Municipality, Ghana, were measured in this study in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) Human Health Risk Assessment guidelines. The results of cancer health risk for resident adults in Obuasi exposed to As in their tap water for both Central Tendency Exposure (CTE) and Reasonable Maximum Exposure (RME) parameters, respectively, are 6.6 × 10 −4 and 5.5 × 10 −6 . For resident children in Odumasi, we obtained 4.7 × 10 −1 (CTE) and 6.7 × 10 −1 (RME). The results of the study obtained in most cases were found to exceed the USEPA's acceptable cancer risk range of 1 × 10 −6 to 1 × 10 −4 (i.e., 1 case of cancer out of 1,000,000 people to 1 case of cancer out of 10,000 people). Similarly, the results of the non-cancer human health risk for both resident adults and children were also found in most cases to be greater than the USEPA's acceptable non-cancer human health hazard index of 1.