Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge
Background: Humans are primary drivers of environmental–contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States, point-of-use DW (POU–DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messag...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024008079 |
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| author | Paul M. Bradley Kristin M. Romanok Kelly L. Smalling Stephanie E. Gordon Bradley J. Huffman Katie Paul Friedman Daniel L. Villeneuve Brett R. Blackwell Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick Michael J. Focazio Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley Shannon M. Meppelink Ana Navas–Acien Anne E. Nigra Molly L. Schreiner |
| author_facet | Paul M. Bradley Kristin M. Romanok Kelly L. Smalling Stephanie E. Gordon Bradley J. Huffman Katie Paul Friedman Daniel L. Villeneuve Brett R. Blackwell Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick Michael J. Focazio Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley Shannon M. Meppelink Ana Navas–Acien Anne E. Nigra Molly L. Schreiner |
| author_sort | Paul M. Bradley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Humans are primary drivers of environmental–contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States, point-of-use DW (POU–DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messaging and lack of directly–intercomparable exposure data influence the actual and perceived quality and safety of different DW supplies and directly impact consumer decision–making. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to provide a meta-analysis (quantitative synthesis) of POU–DW contaminant–mixture exposures and corresponding potential human–health effects of private-TW, public-TW, and BW by aggregating exposure results and harmonizing apical–health–benchmark–weighted and bioactivity–weighted effects predictions across previous studies by this research group. Discussion: Simultaneous exposures to multiple inorganic and organic contaminants of known or suspected human-health concern are common across all three DW supplies, with substantial variability observed in each and no systematic difference in predicted cumulative risk between supplies. Differences in contaminant or contaminant–class exposures, with important implications for DW–quality improvements, were observed and attributed to corresponding differences in regulation and compliance monitoring. Conclusion: The results indicate that human-health risks from contaminant exposures are common to and comparable in all three DW–supplies, including BW. Importantly, this study’s target analytical coverage, which exceeds that currently feasible for water purveyors or homeowners, nevertheless is a substantial underestimation of the breadth of contaminant mixtures in the environment and potentially present in DW. Thus, the results emphasize the need for improved understanding of the adverse human-health implications of long-term exposures to low–level inorganic–/organic–contaminant mixtures across all three distribution pipelines and do not support commercial messaging of BW as a systematically safer alternative to public-TW. Regardless of the supply, increased public engagement in source-water protection and drinking–water treatment is necessary to reduce risks associated with long-term DW–contaminant exposures, especially in vulnerable populations, and to reduce environmental waste and plastics contamination. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a48e758e5b4430c9a1e370d6a236730 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a48e758e5b4430c9a1e370d6a2367302025-01-24T04:44:06ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-01-01195109220Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challengePaul M. Bradley0Kristin M. Romanok1Kelly L. Smalling2Stephanie E. Gordon3Bradley J. Huffman4Katie Paul Friedman5Daniel L. Villeneuve6Brett R. Blackwell7Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick8Michael J. Focazio9Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley10Shannon M. Meppelink11Ana Navas–Acien12Anne E. Nigra13Molly L. Schreiner14U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USA; Corresponding author at: USGS, South Atlantic Water Science Center, Columbia, SC 29210, USA.U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Kearneysville, WV, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USAU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USAU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN, USAU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN, USAU.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USAU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, NC, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Iowa City, IA, USADepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USADepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ, USABackground: Humans are primary drivers of environmental–contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States, point-of-use DW (POU–DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messaging and lack of directly–intercomparable exposure data influence the actual and perceived quality and safety of different DW supplies and directly impact consumer decision–making. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to provide a meta-analysis (quantitative synthesis) of POU–DW contaminant–mixture exposures and corresponding potential human–health effects of private-TW, public-TW, and BW by aggregating exposure results and harmonizing apical–health–benchmark–weighted and bioactivity–weighted effects predictions across previous studies by this research group. Discussion: Simultaneous exposures to multiple inorganic and organic contaminants of known or suspected human-health concern are common across all three DW supplies, with substantial variability observed in each and no systematic difference in predicted cumulative risk between supplies. Differences in contaminant or contaminant–class exposures, with important implications for DW–quality improvements, were observed and attributed to corresponding differences in regulation and compliance monitoring. Conclusion: The results indicate that human-health risks from contaminant exposures are common to and comparable in all three DW–supplies, including BW. Importantly, this study’s target analytical coverage, which exceeds that currently feasible for water purveyors or homeowners, nevertheless is a substantial underestimation of the breadth of contaminant mixtures in the environment and potentially present in DW. Thus, the results emphasize the need for improved understanding of the adverse human-health implications of long-term exposures to low–level inorganic–/organic–contaminant mixtures across all three distribution pipelines and do not support commercial messaging of BW as a systematically safer alternative to public-TW. Regardless of the supply, increased public engagement in source-water protection and drinking–water treatment is necessary to reduce risks associated with long-term DW–contaminant exposures, especially in vulnerable populations, and to reduce environmental waste and plastics contamination.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024008079Point of useDrinking waterPublic supplyPrivate supplyBottled waterContaminant mixtures |
| spellingShingle | Paul M. Bradley Kristin M. Romanok Kelly L. Smalling Stephanie E. Gordon Bradley J. Huffman Katie Paul Friedman Daniel L. Villeneuve Brett R. Blackwell Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick Michael J. Focazio Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley Shannon M. Meppelink Ana Navas–Acien Anne E. Nigra Molly L. Schreiner Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge Environment International Point of use Drinking water Public supply Private supply Bottled water Contaminant mixtures |
| title | Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge |
| title_full | Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge |
| title_fullStr | Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge |
| title_short | Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge |
| title_sort | private public and bottled drinking water shared contaminant mixture exposures and effects challenge |
| topic | Point of use Drinking water Public supply Private supply Bottled water Contaminant mixtures |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024008079 |
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