Research and control of well water pollution in high esophageal cancer areas.
OBJECTIVE
In order to detect risk factors for esophageal cancer, a national research program was carried out during the Eighth Five-Year Plan (from 1991 to 1995).


METHODS
Cixian County and Chichen County in Hebei Province were selected as the index and the control for the study fields with higher or lower incidence of esophagus cancer in China, respectively. In these areas, we investigated the pollution of three nitrogenous compounds in well water for drinking and the use of nitrogen fertilizer in farming.


RESULTS
In well water, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen were 8.77 mg/L, 0.014 mg/L and 0.009 mg/L in Cixian County in 1993, respectively. They were significantly higher than their levels (3.84 mg/L, 0.004 mg/L and 0.004 mg/L) in Chichen County (P<0.01, t=6.281, t=3.784, t=3.775). There was a trend that the nitrogenous compounds in well water increased from 1993 to 1996. The amount of nitrogen fertilizer used in farming was 787.6 kg per hectare land in Cixian County in 1991, significantly higher than 186 kg per hectare in Chichen County (t=9.603, P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
These investigations indicate that the pollution of nitrogenous compounds in well water for drinking is closely related to the use of nitrogen fertilizer in farming, and there is a significantly positive correlation between the level of three nitrogenous compounds in well water and the mortality of esophageal cancer (correlation coefficient =0.5992). We suggest that improvement of well system for drinking water quality should be an effective measure for esophageal cancer prevention and control in rural areas.
Zhang
Xiu-Lan
XL
Cancer Institute, the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, 12 Jian Kang Lu, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China. czf@xinhuanet.com
Bing
Zhang
Z
Xing
Zhang
Z
Chen
Zhi-Feng
ZF
Zhang
Jun-Zhen
JZ
Liang
Shuo-Yuang
SY
Men
Fan-Shu
FS
Zheng
Shu-Liang
SL
Li
Xiang-Ping
XP
Bai
Xiu-Lan
XL
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D012106:Research; D014876:Water Pollution; D014881:Water Supply