BackgroundPresently, health costs associated with nitrate in drinking water are uncertain and not quantified. This limits proper evaluation of current policies and measures for solving or preventing nitrate pollution of drinking water resources. The cost for society associated with nitrate is also relevant for integrated assessment of EU nitrogen policies taking a perspective of welfare optimization. The overarching question is at which nitrogen mitigation level the social cost of measures, including their consequence for availability of food and energy, matches the social benefit of these measures for human health and biodiversity.MethodsEpidemiological studies suggest colon cancer to be possibly associated with nitrate in drinking water. In this study risk increase for colon cancer is based on a case-control study for Iowa, which is extrapolated to assess the social cost for 11 EU member states by using data on cancer incidence, nitrogen leaching and drinking water supply in the EU. Health costs are provisionally compared with nitrate mitigation costs and social benefits of fertilizer use.ResultsFor above median meat consumption the risk of colon cancer doubles when exposed to drinking water exceeding 25 mg/L of nitrate (NO3) for more than ten years. We estimate the associated increase of incidence of colon cancer from nitrate contamination of groundwater based drinking water in EU11 at 3%. This corresponds to a population-averaged health loss of 2.9 euro per capita or 0.7 euro per kg of nitrate-N leaching from fertilizer.ConclusionsOur cost estimates indicate that current measures to prevent exceedance of 50 mg/L NO3 are probably beneficial for society and that a stricter nitrate limit and additional measures may be justified. The present assessment of social cost is uncertain because it considers only one type of cancer, it is based on one epidemiological study in Iowa, and involves various assumptions regarding exposure. Our results highlight the need for improved epidemiological studies.
Estimation of incidence and social cost of colon cancer due to nitrate in drinking water in the EU: a tentative cost-benefit assessment
Hans J M van Grinsven,A. Rabl,T. D. de Kok
Published 2010 in Environmental Health
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2010
- Venue
Environmental Health
- Publication date
2010-10-06
- Fields of study
Medicine, Economics, Environmental Science
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
CONCEPTS
- 25 mg/l nitrate exposure
Drinking-water exposure exceeding 25 mg/L nitrate for more than ten years, used as the risk threshold.
Aliases: 25 mg/L NO3 exposure
- 50 mg/l nitrate limit
The regulatory nitrate concentration limit referenced when judging preventive measures.
Aliases: 50 mg/L NO3 limit
- above-median meat consumption
A dietary subgroup with meat consumption above the median, used to stratify the risk estimate.
Aliases: above median meat intake
- colon cancer
A malignant cancer of the large intestine analyzed as the health outcome linked to nitrate exposure.
Aliases: colorectal cancer
- eu11 member states
The 11 European Union member states included in the extrapolated cost assessment.
Aliases: EU11
- groundwater-based drinking water
Drinking water supplied from groundwater sources, used as the basis for the EU extrapolation.
Aliases: groundwater drinking water
- nitrate in drinking water
Nitrate present in drinking water and treated as the exposure of interest in the assessment.
Aliases: drinking-water nitrate, nitrate contamination in drinking water
- nitrogen leaching from fertilizer
Loss of nitrogen from fertilizer to the environment, used as the denominator for the per-kilogram cost estimate.
Aliases: nitrate-N leaching, fertilizer leaching
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