Abstract

REVELLI, Germán Roberto; SBODIO, Oscar Alberto  and  COSTA, Gabriel Valentín. Epidemiological study of arsenic in groundwater for human consumption in the territory of the Cluster Lechero Regional, Argentina. Acta toxicol. argent. [online]. 2016, vol.24, n.2, pp.105-115. ISSN 1851-3743.

In various regions of the world, it has been found aquifers, destined for human consumption, with arsenic levels that exceed the limits recommended by the environmental agencies or required by law, so that represents a serious public health problem. In the northwest of the province of Santa Fe and the south of Santiago del Estero, defined study area, the background information indicates the existence of aquifers with concentrations of minerals that far exceeded the recommended values for human consumption. These levels of salinity increases with depth and, in addition, it was detected the presence of toxic substances such as arsenic, being a conditioning factor for the groundwater use. In the territory of the Cluster Lechero Regional, the composition of the saline groundwater was analized and, in particular, the concentration of arsenic was assessed, with the aim of setting levels of toxicity and the potential development of chronic diseases. Results showed high salinity and an average concentration of arsenic in the area of 0.203 mg/L. We believe that for a high risk population of 57,436 inhabitants, with no access to a water system network, and theoretically exposed to the concentration of arsenic found in this study, it would be expected 500 cases of cancer attributable to this level of exposure, in the next years. Children between 0 and 2 years old (3,690 children from the region) could develop skin lesions and neurological effects of different magnitude.

Keywords : Epidemiological study; Arsenic in groundwater; Hydroarsenicism; Cluster Lechero Regional.