Exposure of children to metals via tap water ingestion at home: Contamination and exposure data from a nationwide survey in France.
29 inorganic compounds (Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Gd, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn) were measured in the tap water of 484 representative homes of children aged 6months to 6years in metropolitan France in 2008-2009. Parents were asked whether their children consumed tap water. Sampling design and sampling weights were taken into account to estimate element concentrations in tap water supplied to the 3,581,991 homes of 4,923,058 children aged 6months to 6years. Median and 95th percentiles of concentrations in tap water were in μg/L: Al: <10, 48.3, As: 0.2, 2.1; B: <100, 100; Ba: 30.7, 149.4; Ca: 85,000, 121,700; Cd: <0.5, <0.5; Ce: <0.5, <0.5; Co: <0.5, 0.8; Cr: <5, <5; Cu: 70, 720; K: 2210, 6740; Fe: <20, 46; Mn: <5, <5; Mo: <0.5, 1.5; Na: 14,500, 66,800; Ni: <2, 10.2; Mg: 6500, 21,200; Pb: <1, 5.4; Sb: <0.5, <0.5; Se: <1, 6.7; Sr: 256.9, 1004; Tl: <0.5, <0.5; U: <0.5, 2.4; V: <1, 1; Zn: 53, 208. Of the 2,977,123 young children drinking tap water in France, some were drinking water having concentrations above the 2011 World Health Organization drinking-water quality guidelines: respectively 498 (CI 95%: 0-1484) over 700μg/L of Ba; 121,581 (CI 95%: 7091-236,070) over 50mg/L of Na; 2044 (CI 95%: 0-6132) over 70μg/L of Ni, and 78,466 (17,171-139,761) over 10μg/L of Pb. Since it is representative, this tap water contamination data can be used for integrated exposure assessment, in conjunction with diet and environmental (dust and soil) exposure data.
EHESP, School of Public Health, Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, - Avenue du Professeur Léon-Bernard, CS 74312, 35043 Rennes cedex, France; Irset Inserm, UMR 1085-Institut de Recherche sur la Santé, l'Environnement et le Travail, Rennes, France. Electronic address: barbara.lebot@ehesp.fr.
Barbara
B
Le Bot
University of Paris Est, CSTB, Scientific and Technical Building Centre, Marne la Vallée Cedex 2, France; University of South Brittany, UMR 6205, LMBA, F-56000 Vannes, France.
Jean-Paul
JP
Lucas
EHESP, School of Public Health, Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, - Avenue du Professeur Léon-Bernard, CS 74312, 35043 Rennes cedex, France; Irset Inserm, UMR 1085-Institut de Recherche sur la Santé, l'Environnement et le Travail, Rennes, France.
Françoise
F
Lacroix
EHESP, School of Public Health, Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, - Avenue du Professeur Léon-Bernard, CS 74312, 35043 Rennes cedex, France; Irset Inserm, UMR 1085-Institut de Recherche sur la Santé, l'Environnement et le Travail, Rennes, France.
Philippe
P
Glorennec
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D060766:Drinking Water; D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Drinking-water; Environmental exposure; Inorganic; Metal; Metalloid