Some Methodological Approaches to Assessing Health Risks Related to Potable Water Quality in Centralized Water Supply Systems

Introduction. In the current variety of regulatory documentation for the characteristics of drinking water, it seems relevant to develop an algorithm for hygienic assessment and classification according to the degree of risk, which ensures compliance with modern methods.

Objective: optimization of risk assessment due to drinking water consumption of centralized water supply systems based on socio-hygienic monitoring data.

Materials and methods. In preparing the algorithm, normative documents were used to assess the risk to public health associated with chronic exposure to sanitary and chemical indicators of drinking water. These include R 2.1.10.1920–04 and MR 2.1. 4.0032–11. The algorithm was developed for three types of risk, which are given in these documents and are possible in the analysis of sanitary and chemical indicators: carcinogenic, non-carcinogenic and organoleptic.

Results. The actions of the preparatory stage of the risk assessment were determined to focus on priority indicators and exclude from the risk assessment those chemical compounds whose determination method does not allow determining the concentration or interferes with its averaging. The variability in the assessment of non-carcinogenic risk due to differences in the values of safe doses/concentrations, the procedure for calculating risk values and their interpretation was noted. A comparative description of the procedure for assessing carcinogenic risk and the classification of its levels are given.

Conclusion. The presented algorithm covers most of the aspects that hygienists face when planning a study on the impact of drinking water quality on public health and in the process of work. In particular, it allows optimizing the assessment of the risk associated with drinking water from centralized water supply systems based on socio-hygienic monitoring data. In addition, it summarizes the ambiguous procedure for risk assessment established in the regulatory documentation, supplemented by the experience of domestic long-term studies.

1. National Research Council (US) Committee on the Institutional Means for Assessment of Risks to Public Health. Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1983. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216620/

2. Rakhmanin YA, Novikov SM, Avaliani SL, Sinitsyna OO, Shashina TA. Actual problems of environmental factors risk assessment on human health and ways to improve it. Health Risk Analysis. 2015;(2):4-11. (In Russ.)

3. Novikov SM, Fokin MV, Shashina TA, Dodina NS. Tools for Environmental Risk Assessment (TERA) – Russian information-forecasting systems, experience of application for health risk assessment. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2017;96(11):1088-1090. (In Russ.) doi: 10.18821/0016-9900-2017-96-11-1088-1090

4. Dray IV, Shaydullin FN, Voetskiy IA, Zimareva SA, Kosyanov MA, Stepanova NV. [Creation and implementation of the information system “Interactive map of drinking water quality control in the Russian Federation”.] In: Popova AYu, Zaitseva NV, eds. Health Risk Analysis – 2020: Proceedings of the Tenth All-Russian Conference with international participation in conjunction with the International Meeting on Environment and Health RISE – 2020 and a Round Table on Food Safety, Perm, May 13–15, 2020. Perm: Perm National Research Polytechnic Univ. Publ.; 2020;1:284-294. (In Russ.)

5. Myasnikov IO, Novikova YuA, Kopytenkova OI, Evseeva MN, Yeremin GB. Methodological bases of the management of data collection for drinking water quality monitoring. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2021;100(8):769-774. (In Russ.) doi: 10.47470/0016-9900-2021100-8-769-774

6. Gashnikova TV. On environmental standardization of drinking water quality and production control for compliance with its requirements. Problemy Ukrepleniya Zakonnosti i Pravoporyadka: Nauka, Praktika, Tendentsii. 2020;(13):80-86. (In Russ.)

7. Vozhdaeva MYu, Kholova AR, Vagner EV, et al. The use of results of expanded monitoring research for the integrated assessment of drinking water according to indices of chemical harmlessness. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2018;97(2):117-124. (In Russ.) doi: 10.18821/00169900-2018-97-2-117-124

8. Arkhipova SV, Suchkov VV. [The content of total iron in drinking water as a priority factor posing a non-carcinogenic health risk to the population of the Samara region.] In: Popova AYu, Zaitseva NV, eds. Health Risk Analysis – 2020: Proceedings of the Tenth All-Russian Conference with international participation in conjunction with the International Meeting on Environment and Health RISE – 2020 and a Round Table on Food Safety, Perm, May 13–15, 2020. Perm: Perm National Research Polytechnic Univ. Publ.; 2020;1:506-509. (In Russ.)

9. Ivanyutin NM, Podovalova SV, Dzhaparova AM. Integral assessment of drinking water from underground sources of the Salgir river basin. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2022;101(5):493-502. (In Russ.) doi: 10.47470/0016-9900-2022-101-5-493-502

10. Shokin YuI, Moskvichev VV, Taseyko OV, Bel'skaya EN. [Determination of environmental quality standards based on a risk-based approach.] Vestnik Rossiyskoy Akademii Nauk. 2020;90(12):11461155. (In Russ.) doi: 10.31857/S0869587320120245

11. Byankin AS, Darizhapov BB, Votin GV. [Assessment of non-carcinogenic risk to population health posed by oral exposure to boron in drinking water, on the example of the planning area Lugovoe of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.] In: Topical Issues of Risk Analysis in Ensuring Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare of the Population and Protecting Consumer Rights: Proceedings of the Ninth All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference with international participation, Perm, May 15–16, 2019. Perm: Perm National Research Polytechnic Univ. Publ.; 2019:83-87. (In Russ.)

12. Rakhmatullina LR, Suleymanov RA, Valeev TK, Baktybaeva ZB, Rakhmatullin NR. Assessing health risks associated with drinking water quality (on the example of regions in Bashkortostan where oil fields are located). Health Risk Analysis. 2021;(2):33-40. (In Russ.) doi: 10.21668/health.risk/2021.2.03.eng

13. Tsunina NM, Zhernov YuV. Health risk assessment of the population in Samara associated with chemical contamination of drinking water. Zdorov'e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2019;(11(308)):2226. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35627/2219-5238/2019-308-11-22-26

14. Mehantiev II. Health risks for the population of the Voronezh Region related to drinking water quality. Zdorov'e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2020;(4(325)):37-42. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35627/22195238/2020-325-4-37-42

15. Egorova NA, Kuz NV, Sinitsyna OO. Materials for the substantiation of hygienic standard of microcystin-LR in water of water objects. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2018;97(11):1046-1052. (In Russ.) doi: 10.18821/0016-9900-2018-97-11-1046-52

16. Zholdakova ZI, Mamonov RA, Pechnikova IA. Improvement of criteria and methods for justifying safe levels of substances in water. Mezhdunarodnyy Zhurnal Prikladnykh i Fundamental'nykh Issledovaniy. 2019;(8):60-66. (In Russ.)

17. Kriyt VE, Sladkova YuN, Volchkova OV, Smirnov VV, Ananyev VYu, Mustafina IZ. Harmonization of hygienic standards for chemical drinking water contaminants: relevance and main emphases. Zdorov'e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2019;(12(321)):23-29. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35627/2219-5238/2019-321-12-23-29

18. Stepanova NV, Fomina SF. Perspective trends in assessment of the health effects of the chemicals ingested with drinking water. In: Gulyaev GYu, ed. [Innovative Processes in Science and Education.] Penza: Nauka i Prosveshchenie Publ.; 2017:124-132. (In Russ.)

19. Fomina SF, Stepanova NV. [Carcinogenic risk assessment of environmental chemicals for the child population of Kazan.] In: Popova AYu, Zaitseva NV, eds. Health Risk Analysis – 2020: Proceedings of the Tenth All-Russian Conference with international participation in conjunction with the International Meeting on Environment and Health RISE – 2020 and a Round Table on Food Safety, Perm, May 13–15, 2020. Perm: Perm National Research Polytechnic Univ. Publ.; 2020;1:199-206. (In Russ.)

20. Rakitskii VN, Stepkin YuI, Klepikov OV, Kurolap SA. Assessment of carcinogenic risk caused by the impact of the environmental factors on urban population health. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2021;100(3):188-195. (In Russ.) doi: 10.47470/0016-9900-2021-100-3-188-195

21. Unguryanu TN. Health risk assessment for integrated exposure of chemical contaminants in tap water. Ekologiya Cheloveka (Human Ecology). 2011;(3):14-20. (In Russ.)

22. Bezgodov IV, Efimova NV, Kuzmina MV. Assessment of the quality of drinking water and risk for the population’s health in rural territories in the Irkutsk region. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2015;94(2):15-19. (In Russ.)

23. Polyakov VYu, Revutskaya IL, Krohalyova SI. Evaluation of iron ingestion with drinking water in different age groups of Birobidzhan. Ekologiya Cheloveka (Human Ecology). 2018;(1):20-25. (In Russ.) doi: 10.33396/1728-0869-2018-1-20-25

24. Kovalchuk VK, Yamilova OYu, Saenko AG. The structure of drinking water daily consumption of adolescent population in Primorsky Terriroty in 2012 and 2015. Zdorov'e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2017;(6(291)):32-33. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35627/2219-5238/2017-2916-32-33

25. Mekhantiev II. Subjective assessment of quality of drinking water consumed by the population of the Voronezh region. Sanitarnyy Vrach. 2020;(5):63-75. (In Russ.) doi: 10.33920/med-08-2005-07

26. Drazdova AV, Prasvirakova IA, Suravets TZ, Firaho AV, Dalhina NA, Bunevich NV. Methodological approaches to health risks assessment due to exposure of volatile organic chemicals in drinking water. In: Maskevich SA, Germenchuk MG, eds. Sakharov Readings – 2022: Environmental Problems of the 21st Century: Proceedings of the 22nd International Scientific Conference, Minsk, May 19–20, 2022. Minsk: Information and Computing Center of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus; 2022;2:77-80. (In Russ.) doi: 10.46646/SAKH-2022-2-77-80

27. Fedorov VN, Zaritskaya EV, Novikova YuA, Sladkova YuN, Metelitsa ND. Substantiation of drinking water quality testing methods of choice for the goals and objectives of sanitary and epidemiologic expert examination and health risk assessment. Zdorov'e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2020;(10(331)):15-21. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35627/2219-5238/2020-331-10-15-21

28. Bogdanova OG, Efimova NV, Bagaeva EE. Health risk assessment of the population of the Republic of Buryatia associated with increased nitrate and nitrite intake. Ekologiya Cheloveka (Human Ecology). 2022;(1):47-59. (In Russ.) doi: 10.17816/humeco83797

29. Sazonova OV, Sergeev AK, Chupakhina LV, Ryazanova TK, Sudakova TV. Analyzing health risks caused by contaminated drinking water (experience gained in Samara region). Health Risk Analysis. 2021;(2):41-51. (In Russ.) doi: 10.21668/health.risk/2021.2.04