Chemical composition of groundwater/drinking water and oncological disease mortality, Slovak Republic

This study deals with relationship between chemical composition of the groundwater / drinking water and mortality from oncological diseases (MOD) in Slovakia. Primary data consist of the Slovak national database of groundwater... [ view full abstract ]

This study deals with relationship between chemical composition of the groundwater / drinking water and mortality from oncological diseases (MOD) in Slovakia. Primary data consist of the Slovak national database of groundwater analyses (20,339 chemical analyses, 34 chemical elements/compounds) and data on MOD (17 health indicators collected within 1994-2003). The chemical and health data were unified in the same form and expressed as the mean values for each of 2,883 Slovak municipalities. Pearson and Spearman correlation as well as artificial neural network were used for statistical data analysis to identify the most significant chemical elements having influence on MOD and their limit and optimal contents. Based on calculations through neural network, eight chemical elements/parameters in the groundwater were defined as the most significant for MOD: Ca+Mg (mmol l-1), Ca, Mg, TDS, Cl, HCO3, SO4 and NO3.
The highest relationship between MOD and groundwater contents was documented for Ca+Mg (mmol l-1), Ca and Mg. We observe increased MOD with their low (deficit) contents in groundwater/drinking water. The limit values were set for Ca+Mg 1.73-5.85 mmol l-1, Ca 60.5-196.8 mg l-1 and Mg 25.6-35.8 mg l-1. At these concentration ranges MOD in the Slovak Republic is at the lowest levels. These limits are about twice higher in comparison with the current Slovak guideline values for the drinking water.
This research has been performed within the project Geohealth (LIFE10 ENV/SK/086) which is financially supported by the EU’s funding instrument for the environment: Life+ programme and Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic.