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A methodology for assessing public health risk associated with groundwater nitrate contamination: a case study in an agricultural setting (southern Spain)

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Abstract

Groundwater nitrate contamination from agriculture is of paramount environmental interest. A continuous consumption of polluted water as drinking water or for culinary purposes is by no means a minor hazard for people’s health that must be studied. This research presents a new methodology for the spatial analysis of health risk rate from intake of nitrate-polluted groundwater. The method is illustrated through its application to a water quality sampling campaign performed in the south of Spain in 2003. The probability risk model used by the US Environmental Protection Agency has been applied, considering a residential intake framework and three representative population age groups (10, 40 and 65 years).The method was based upon coupling Monte Carlo simulations and geostatistics, which allowed mapping of the health risk coefficient (RC). The maps obtained were interpreted in the framework of water resources management and user’s health protection (municipalities). The results showed waterborne health risk caused by nitrate-polluted water is moderately low for the region. The observed risk was larger for the elderly and children, although no significant differences were found among the three age groups (RC average values of 95th percentile for age of 0.37, 0.33 and 0.37, respectively). Significant risk values of RC > 1 were obtained for 10 % of the surface in the NW site of the study area, where the municipalities with the highest contamination thresholds are located (agricultural activity). Nitrate concentration and intake rate stood out as the main explanatory variables of the RC.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial support given by the Spanish MINECO (project BIA2013-43462-P) and Junta de Andalucía (Group RNM122).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geodinámica, Universidad de Granada, Avenida Fuentenueva s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain

    Mario Chica-Olmo

  2. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras “Eduardo J. Usunoff”CIC, UNCPBA, MA, Campus Universitario Azul. Av. Italia 780, 7300, Azul, Argentina

    Fabio Peluso

  3. Unidad del IGME en Granada, Urbanización Alcázar del Genil, 4, 18006, Granada, Spain

    Juan Antonio Luque-Espinar

  4. Departamento de Geografía Física y Análisis Geográfico Regional, Universidad de Sevilla, Calle Doña María de Padilla s/n, 41004, Seville, Spain

    Victor Rodriguez-Galiano

  5. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Ríos Rosas 23, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Eulogio Pardo-Igúzquiza

  6. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Madrid s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain

    Lucía Chica-Rivas

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  1. Mario Chica-Olmo
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  2. Fabio Peluso
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  3. Juan Antonio Luque-Espinar
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  4. Victor Rodriguez-Galiano
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  6. Lucía Chica-Rivas
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Correspondence to Victor Rodriguez-Galiano.

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Chica-Olmo, M., Peluso, F., Luque-Espinar, J.A. et al. A methodology for assessing public health risk associated with groundwater nitrate contamination: a case study in an agricultural setting (southern Spain). Environ Geochem Health 39, 1117–1132 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-016-9880-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-016-9880-7

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