ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the evidence linking drinking water contaminants with human disease, and suggests areas for further research. Traces of natural and man-made radioactivity from radionuclides are found in drinking water supplies throughout the world. Waterborne radon is responsible for most of the population dose of alpha radiation from drinking water, with the primary exposure being to the lungs via airborne radon released from water. Several inorganic solutes commonly found in drinking water, among them arsenic and nitrate, are suspected to increase cancer risk in exposed populations. Contamination of underground and surface water with organic chemicals from industrial, agricultural, commercial, and domestic sources, as well as from hazardous waste disposal sites, is increasingly found. Chemical by-products are found in almost every disinfected drinking water supply. Ecologic studies of mortality or incidence were used first to estimate the potential scope of the problem.
