ABSTRACT
Hazardous concentrations of arsenic (As) and other toxic trace elements in groundwater have been found in Cambodia (Polya et al., 2005). Simultaneously, numerous studies of baseline concentration of As in human hairs, nails and urines as a biomarker of As exposure, have also been published (Kubota et al., 2005; Gault et al., 2008). In Kandal province alone, Sampson et al. (2008) has estimated that 100,000 people are at high risk of chronic As exposure. This indicates that consumption of contaminated water is threatened by potential non cancer and cancer effects. Therefore, the goals of this study are (i) to determine the distribution of As and other toxic trace elements in groundwater in the Mekong river basin of Cambodia. (ii) to assess the chronic and carcinogenic risk among the population exposed to As through groundwater consumption.
