Environmental health risk assessment of nickel contamination of drinking water in a country town in NSW

Noore Alam; Stephen J. Corbett; Helen C. Ptolemy

doi:10.1071/NB97043

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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Environmental health risk assessment of nickel contamination of drinking water in a country town in NSW

Noore Alam ^A ^B ^C , Stephen J. Corbett ^A and Helen C. Ptolemy ^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Centre for Population Health, Sydney West Area Health Service

^B National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), Australian National University

^C Corresponding author. Email: noore.alam@cancerinstitute.org.au

NSW Public Health Bulletin 19(10) 170-173 https://doi.org/10.1071/NB97043
Published: 21 November 2008

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the health risks associated with consumption of drinking water with elevated nickel concentration in a NSW country town named Sampleton. Methods: We used enHealth Guidelines (2002) as our risk assessment tool. Laboratory test results for nickel in water samples were compared with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2004 and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality 2005. Results: The mean nickel concentration in the drinking water samples tested over a 4-year period (2002–2005) was 0.03 mg/L (95% CI: 0.02–0.04). The average daily consumption of two litres of water by a 70-kg adult provided 0.06 mg (0.03 mg × 2) of nickel, which was only 7% of the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) based on experiments on nickel-sensitive people in a fasting state. Conclusions: The mean nickel concentration in drinking water appears to have no health risks for the inhabitants of Sampleton.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Ms Amanda Muir and the environmental health team at the local council for collecting water samples. Thanks to the Centre for Population Health, Sydney West Area Health Service for support in this assessment.

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