Abstract:

Arsenism is a new endemic disease resulted from drinking the high arsenic groundwater. In order to evaluate the potential health hazards of arsenic in drinking water, field investigations and sample analysis have been finished, the safety threshold of arsenic in groundwater have been discussed. By analysis of threshold, total arsenic content in water less than 0.05 mg/L was determined as the safe threshold of water arsenic in study area. An evaluation model about the risk of groundwater has been set up, and health risk assessment has been carried out. In all samples, the maximum value of individual annual health risks was 2.11×10^-3 a^-1, and health risk of arsenic in 97.06% sampling sites of confined water of Quaternary period were greater than 5.0×10^-5a^-1，acceptable maximum value recommended by ICRP. Confined water of Tertiary is the backup water source，health risk of arsenic in 69.57% of its sampling sites exceeded the acceptable maximum value. Comparison analysis of the risk assessment results and the illness condition show that the results of health risk assessment are similar to arsenism information, which prove the evaluation results are all reasonable.

Key words: western Jilin Province, arsenic in groundwater, safe threshold, health risks, risk assessment