title: Pregnant women in Timis County, Romania are exposed primarily to low-level (<10μg/l) arsenic through residential drinking water consumption.
abstract: Excessive arsenic content in drinking water poses health risks to millions of people worldwide. Inorganic arsenic (iAs) in groundwater exceeding the 10μg/l maximum contaminant level (MCL) set by the World Health Organization (WHO) is characteristic for intermediate-depth aquifers over large areas of the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe. In western Romania, near the border with Hungary, Arad, Bihor, and Timis counties use drinking water coming partially or entirely from iAs contaminated aquifers. In nearby Arad and Bihor counties, more than 45,000 people are exposed to iAs over 10μg/l via public drinking water sources. However, comparable data are unavailable for Timis County. To begin to address this data gap, we determined iAs in 124 public and private Timis County drinking water sources, including wells and taps, used by pregnant women participating in a case-control study of spontaneous loss. Levels in water sources were low overall (median=3.0; range=<0.5-175μg/l), although higher in wells (median=3.1, range=<0.5-1.75) than in community taps (median=2.7, range=<0.5-36.4). In a subsample of 20 control women we measured urine biomarkers of iAs exposure, including iAs (arsenite and arsenate), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and methylarsonic acid (MMA). Median values were higher among 10 women using iAs contaminated drinking water sources compared to 10 women using uncontaminated sources for urine total iAs (6.6 vs. 5.0μg/l, P=0.24) and DMA (5.5 vs. 4.2μg/l, P=0.31). The results suggested that the origin of urine total iAs (r=0.35, P=0.13) and DMA (r=0.31, P=0.18) must have been not only iAs in drinking-water but also some other source. Exposure of pregnant women to arsenic via drinking water in Timis County appears to be lower than for surrounding counties; however, it deserves a more definitive investigation as to its origin and the regional distribution of its risk potential.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Babes Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Iulia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Neamtiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, United States; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, United States. Electronic address: mbloom@albany.edu.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bloom
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gati
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Goessler
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Surdu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pop
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Braeuer
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, United States; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Edward F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.affiliation: Babes Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Calin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baciu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Ioana Rodica
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Lupsa
authors.affiliation: University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania; Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Emergency County Hospital, Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Doru
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anastasiu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Babes Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Iuliu Hatieganu", Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Eugen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gurzau
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000652:urine; D000328:Adult; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000652:urine*; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000652:urine*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania
chemical_list: D001152:Arsenicals; D060766:Drinking Water
keywords: Arsenic urinary biomarkers; Drinking water; Exposure; Inorganic arsenic (iAs); Public and private wells; Western Romania