Comprehensive assessment of the impact of land use and hydrogeological properties on the groundwater quality in Taiwan using factor and cluster analyses.

This study aims at making a comprehensive assessment of the impact of land use and the hydrogeological properties on groundwater quality. First, factor analysis (FA) is applied to reveal the main pollutant sources and hydrogeological processes controlling the groundwater quality. FA identifies the four most important factors. Factor 1 (seawater salinization) is characterized by a medium loading of land use type of aquaculture. It is recognized that the high scores for factor 1 in coastal areas are due to over-pumping from aquafarms. Focused land use management is required to prevent saline-water intrusion in coastal aquifers. Factor 3 (nitrate pollution) shows high correlations with the land use type of fruit farming and the gravel thickness in unsaturated layers. High scores for factor 3 are also found in the proximal area of the Chuoshui River Alluvial Fan and the northeastern mountain area in the Pingtung Plain. Fruit farmers should be educated to reduce the application of fertilizers and promote the organic fruit farming. The impacts of land use and the hydrogeological properties on both Factor 2 (arsenic enrichment) and Factor 4 (reductive dissolution of Fe2+ and Mn2+) are negligible. Second, cluster analysis (CA) is performed on computed scores of the four main factors to separates 123 monitoring wells into cluster 1 (low polluted zone), cluster 2 (nitrate polluted zone) and cluster 3 (hybrid polluted zone). The results obtained from CA provide practical applications such as reduce agrichemical use in the areas of cluster 2 and enforce intensive monitoring in the prioritizing areas of cluster 3. This study successively uses the FA and CA to extract the meaningful information present by geographical visualization of scores for 4 main factors and 3 distinct clusters zones. The results are essential for formulating sound groundwater resource and land use management policies to ensure groundwater sustainability.

A Machine Learning Approach for Spatial Mapping of the Health Risk Associated with Arsenic-Contaminated Groundwater in Taiwan's Lanyang Plain.

Groundwater resources are abundant and widely used in Taiwan's Lanyang Plain. However, in some places the groundwater arsenic (As) concentrations far exceed the World Health Organization's standards for drinking water quality. Measurements of the As concentrations in groundwater show considerable spatial variability, which means that the associated risk to human health would also vary from region to region. This study aims to adapt a back-propagation neural network (BPNN) method to carry out more reliable spatial mapping of the As concentrations in the groundwater for comparison with the geostatistical ordinary kriging (OK) method results. Cross validation is performed to evaluate the prediction performance by dividing the As monitoring data into three sets. The cross-validation results show that the average determination coefficients (R2) for the As concentrations obtained with BPNN and OK are 0.55 and 0.49, whereas the average root mean square errors (RMSE) are 0.49 and 0.54, respectively. Given the better prediction performance of the BPNN, it is recommended as a more reliable tool for the spatial mapping of the groundwater As concentration. Subsequently, the As concentrations estimated obtained using the BPNN are applied to develop a spatial map illustrating the risk to human health associated with the ingestion of As-containing groundwater based on the noncarcinogenic hazard quotient (HQ) and carcinogenic target risk (TR) standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Such maps can be used to demarcate the areas where residents are at higher risk due to the ingestion of As-containing groundwater, and prioritize the areas where more intensive monitoring of groundwater quality is required. The spatial mapping of As concentrations from the BPNN was also used to demarcate the regions where the groundwater is suitable for farmland and fishponds based on the water quality standards for As for irrigation and aquaculture.

Spatial dynamic assessment of health risks for urban river cruises.

River cruising ships move along river courses, and thus health risks to passengers may vary spatially due to the accidental exposure of river fecal pollution. This study performed a spatial dynamic assessment of health risks for river cruises in the highly urbanized Tamsui River Basin. First, the spatial distributions of river Escherichia coli (E. coli) were probabilistically characterized using indicator kriging (IK). Moreover, the current river cruise information was surveyed to obtain cruise routes and transit times. Then, to explore the parametric uncertainty of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), the ingestion rate (IR) for boating was determined using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). Moreover, river E. coli distributions were estimated using nonparametric MCS according to multi-threshold IK estimates. Eventually, after combining the distribution of the joint probability of the IR and E. coli in QMRA, the ß-Poisson dose-response function was adopted to analyze risks to river cruise passengers at discretized segments of cruise routes. Health risks to river cruise passengers were integrated at the discretized segments to explore suitable recreational strategies for river cruises. The research results indicate that all health risks do not exceed a daily target level of 8 illnesses per 1000 exposures for single-trip cruise routes. However, health risks to passengers can exceed this level for round-trip cruise routes along highly polluted urban river courses.

Spatial analysis of the risk to human health from exposure to arsenic contaminated groundwater: A kriging approach.

A long-term groundwater quality survey in northeastern Taiwan's Lanyang Plain has revealed obvious contamination of the groundwater in some areas, with measured As concentrations in excess of the acceptable level of 10µg/L. Efforts for assessing the health risk associated with the intake of As through the drinking of contaminated groundwater are a necessary part of the important work of health risk management. However, the standard approach to assessing risks to human health does not adequately account for spatial heterogeneity in the measured As concentrations. Thus, this study applies two different kriging approaches to carry out a spatial analysis of the health risk associated with ingesting As through the drinking of groundwater in the Lanyang Plain. It is found that the indicator kriging (IK) approach, with occurrence probability threshold values of 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 yields correct classification percentages of 75%, 68% and 61%, respectively, of unacceptable HQ zones. An HQ map prepared with the ordinary kriging (OK) approach shows a correct classification of unacceptable HQ zones of 80%. Considering that the OK approach does not require subjective selection of an occurrence probability threshold value as is the case with the IK approach and can yield a higher percentage of correct classification for unacceptable HQ zones, it is recommended as a more direct and reliable method for spatial analysis of human health risk due to arsenic exposure through the drinking of groundwater. The results show that the geographical distribution of unacceptable HQ zones is concentrated in the eastern part of the study area, which includes the high-population density townships. In other words, 34% of the people had access to groundwater where the HQ was >1. The results of this type of spatial health risk assessment can provide a basis for improving the decision-making process for health risk management.

Characterizing health risks associated with recreational swimming at Taiwanese beaches by using quantitative microbial risk assessment.

Taiwan is surrounded by oceans, and therefore numerous pleasure beaches attract millions of tourists annually to participate in recreational swimming activities. However, impaired water quality because of fecal pollution poses a potential threat to the tourists' health. This study probabilistically characterized the health risks associated with recreational swimming engendered by waterborne enterococci at 13 Taiwanese beaches by using quantitative microbial risk assessment. First, data on enterococci concentrations at coastal beaches monitored by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration were reproduced using nonparametric Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The ingestion volumes of recreational swimming based on uniform and gamma distributions were subsequently determined using MCS. Finally, after the distribution combination of the two parameters, the beta-Poisson dose-response function was employed to quantitatively estimate health risks to recreational swimmers. Moreover, various levels of risk to recreational swimmers were classified and spatially mapped to explore feasible recreational and environmental management strategies at the beaches. The study results revealed that although the health risks associated with recreational swimming did not exceed an acceptable benchmark of 0.019 illnesses daily at all beaches, they approached to this benchmark at certain beaches. Beaches with relatively high risks are located in Northwestern Taiwan owing to the current movements.

Spatial Analysis of Human Health Risk Due to Arsenic Exposure through Drinking Groundwater in Taiwan's Pingtung Plain.

Chronic arsenic (As) exposure continues to be a public health problem of major concern worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of people. A long-term groundwater quality survey has revealed that 20% of the groundwater in southern Taiwan's Pingtung Plain is clearly contaminated with a measured As concentration in excess of the maximum level of 10 µg/L recommended by the World Health Organization. The situation is further complicated by the fact that more than half of the inhabitants in this area continue to use groundwater for drinking. Efforts to assess the health risk associated with the ingestion of As from the contaminated drinking water are required in order to determine the priorities for health risk management. The conventional approach to conducting a human health risk assessment may be insufficient for this purpose, so this study adopts a geostatistical Kriging method to perform a spatial analysis of the health risk associated with ingesting As through drinking groundwater in the Pingtung Plain. The health risk is assessed based on the hazard quotient (HQ) and target cancer risk (TR) established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The results show that most areas where the HQ exceeds 1 are in the southwestern part of the study area. In addition, the high-population density townships of Daliao, Linyuan, Donggang, Linbian, Jiadong, and Fangliao presently have exceedingly high TR values that are two orders of magnitude higher than the acceptable standard. Thus, the use of groundwater for drinking in these townships should be strictly avoided. A map that delineates areas with high TR values and high population densities is provided. The findings broaden the scope of the spatial analysis of human health risk and provide a basis for improving the decision-making process.

Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment of the Pingtung Plain in Southern Taiwan.

In the Pingtung Plain of southern Taiwan, elevated levels of NO3--N in groundwater have been reported. Therefore, efforts for assessing groundwater vulnerability are required as part of the critical steps to prevent and control groundwater pollution. This study makes a groundwater vulnerability assessment for the Pingtung Plain using an improved overlay and index-based DRASTIC model. The improvement of the DRASTIC model is achieved by reassigning the weighting coefficients of the factors in this model with the help of a discriminant analysis statistical method. The analytical results obtained from the improved DRASTIC model provide a reliable prediction for use in groundwater vulnerability assessment to nitrate pollution and can correctly identify the groundwater protection zones in the Pingtung Plain. Moreover, the results of the sensitivity analysis conducted for the seven parameters in the improved DRASTIC model demonstrate that the aquifer media (A) is the most sensitive factor when the nitrate-N concentration is below 2.5 mg/L. For the cases where the nitrate-N concentration is above 2.5 mg/L, the aquifer media (A) and net recharge (R) are the two most important factors.

Zonal management of multi-purposes groundwater utilization based on water quality and impact on the aquifer.

Groundwater is widely used for drinking, irrigation, and aquaculture in the Pingtung Plain, Southwestern Taiwan. The overexploitation and poor quality of groundwater in some areas of the Pingtung Plain pose great challenges for the safe use and sustainable management of groundwater resources. Thus, establishing an effective management plan for multi-purpose groundwater utilization in the Pingtung Plain is imperative. Considerations of the quality of the groundwater and potential impact on the aquifer of groundwater exploitation are paramount to multi-purpose groundwater utilization management. This study proposes a zonal management plan for the multi-purpose use of groundwater in the Pingtung Plain. The zonal management plan is developed by considering the spatial variability of the groundwater quality and the impact on the aquifer, which is defined as the ratio of the actual groundwater extraction rate to transmissivity. A geostatistical Kriging approach is used to spatially delineate the safe zones based on the water quality standards applied in the three groundwater utilization sectors. Suitable zones for the impact on the aquifer are then spatially determined. The evaluation results showing the safe water quality zones for the three types of utilization demands and suitable zones for the impact on aquifer are integrated to create a zonal management map for multi-purpose groundwater utilization which can help government administrators to establish a water resource management strategy for safe and sustainable use of groundwater to meet multi-purpose groundwater utilization requirements in the Pingtung Plain.

Health risk assessment of groundwater arsenic pollution in southern Taiwan.

Residents of the Pingtung Plain, Taiwan, use groundwater for drinking. However, monitoring results showed that a considerable portion of groundwater has an As concentration higher than the safe drinking water regulation of 10 µg/L. Considering residents of the Pingtung Plain continue to use groundwater for drinking, this study attempted to evaluate the exposure and health risk from drinking groundwater. The health risk from drinking groundwater was evaluated based on the hazard quotient (HQ) and target risk (TR) established by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The results showed that the 95th percentile of HQ exceeded 1 and TR was above the safe value of threshold value of 10-6. To illustrate significant variability of the drinking water consumption rate and body weight of each individual, health risk assessments were also performed using a spectrum of daily water intake rate and body weight to reasonably and conservatively assess the exposure and health risk for the specific subgroups of population of the Pingtung Plain. The assessment results showed that 0.01-7.50 % of the population's HQ levels are higher than 1 and as much as 77.7-93.3 % of the population being in high cancer risk category and having a TR value >10-6. The TR estimation results implied that groundwater use for drinking purpose places people at risk of As exposure. The government must make great efforts to provide safe drinking water for residents of the Pingtung Plain.

Probabilistic health risk assessment for ingestion of seafood farmed in arsenic contaminated groundwater in Taiwan.

Seafood farmed in arsenic (As)-contaminated areas is a major exposure pathway for the ingestion of inorganic As by individuals in the southwestern part of Taiwan. This study presents a probabilistic risk assessment using limited data for inorganic As intake through the consumption of the seafood by local residents in these areas. The As content and the consumption rate are both treated as probability distributions, taking into account the variability of the amount in the seafood and individual consumption habits. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is utilized to conduct an assessment of exposure due to the daily intake of inorganic As from As-contaminated seafood. Exposure is evaluated according to the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) established by the FAO/WHO and the target risk based on the US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. The assessment results show that inorganic As intake from five types of fish (excluding mullet) and shellfish fall below the PTWI threshold values for the 95th percentiles, but exceed the target cancer risk of 10(-6). The predicted 95th percentile for inorganic As intake and lifetime cancer risks obtained in the study are both markedly higher than those obtained in previous studies in which the consumption rate of seafood considered is a deterministic value. This study demonstrates the importance of the individual variability of seafood consumption when evaluating a high exposure sub-group of the population who eat higher amounts of fish and shellfish than the average Taiwanese.

Intron identification approaches based on weighted features and fuzzy decision trees.

Current computational predictions of splice sites largely depend on the sequence patterns of known intronic sequence features (ISFs) described in the classical intron definition model (IDM). The computation-oriented IDM (CO-IDM) clearly provides more specific and concrete information for describing intron flanks of splice sites (IFSSs). In the paper, we proposed a novel approach of fuzzy decision trees (FDTs) which utilize (1) weighted ISFs of twelve uni-frame patterns (UFPs) and forty-five multi-frame patterns (MFPs) and (2) gain ratios to improve the performances in identifying an intron. First, we fuzzified extracted features from genomic sequences using membership functions with an unsupervised self-organizing map (SOM) technique. Then, we brought in different viewpoints of globally weighting and crossly referring in generating fuzzy rules, which are interpretable and useful for biologists to verify whether a sequence is an intron or not. Finally, the experimental results revealed the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving the identification accuracy. Besides, we also implemented an on-line intronic identifier to infer an unknown genomic sequence.

Assessing and managing the health risk due to ingestion of inorganic arsenic from fish and shellfish farmed in blackfoot disease areas for general Taiwanese.

This paper assesses health risks due to the ingestion of inorganic arsenic from fish and shellfish farmed in blackfoot disease areas by general public in Taiwan. The provisional tolerable weekly intake of arsenic set by FAO/WHO and the target cancer risk assessment model proposed by USEPA were integrated to evaluate the acceptable consumption rate. Five aquacultural species, tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), milkfish (Chanos chanos), mullet (Mugil cephalus), clam (Meretrix lusoria) and oyster (Crassostrea gigas) were included. Monte Carlo analysis was used to propagate the parameter uncertainty and to probabilistically assess the health risk associated with the daily intake of inorganic As from farmed fish and shellfish. The integrated risk-based analysis indicates that the associated 50th and 95th percentile health risk are 2.06×10(-5) and 8.77×10(-5), respectively. Moreover, the acceptable intakes of inorganic As are defined and illustrated by a two dimensional graphical model. According to the relationship between C(inorg) and IR(f) derived from this study, two risk-based curves are constructed. An acceptable risk zone is determined (risk ranging from 1×10(-5) to 6.07×10(-5)) which is recommended for acceptable consumption rates of fish and shellfish. To manage the health risk due to the ingestion of inorganic As from fish and shellfish in BFD areas, a risk-based management scheme is derived which provide a convenient way for general public to self-determine the acceptable seafood consumption rate.

An integrated GIS-based approach in assessing carcinogenic risks via food-chain exposure in arsenic-affected groundwater areas.

This study presented an integrated GIS-based approach for assessing potential carcinogenic risks via food-chain exposure of ingesting inorganic arsenic (As) in aquacultural tilapia, milkfish, mullet, and clam in the As-affected groundwater areas. To integrate spatial information, geographic information system (GIS) was adopted to combine polygon-shaped features of aquacultural species with cell-shaped features of As contamination in groundwater. Owing to sparse measured data, Monte Carlo simulation and sequential indicator simulation were used to characterize the uncertainty of assessed parameters. Target cancer risks (TRs) of ingesting As contents at fish ponds were spatially mapped to assess potential risks to human health. The analyzed results reveal that clam farmed at the western coastal ponds and milkfish farmed at the southwestern coastal ponds have high risks to human health, whereas tilapia cultivated mainly at the inland ponds only has high risks at the 95th percentile of TR. Mullet in general has low risks to human health. Moreover, to decrease risks, this study suggests reducing the use of As-affected groundwater at clam and milkfish ponds due to high bioconcentration factor (BCF) of clam and inorganic As accumulation ratio of milkfish. The integrated GIS-based approach can provide fishery administrators with an effective management strategy at specific fish ponds with high risks to human health.

Determining the probability of arsenic in groundwater using a parsimonious model.

Spatial distributions of groundwater quality are commonly heterogeneous, varying with depths and locations, which is important in assessing the health and ecological risks. Owing to time and cost constraints, it is not practical or economical to measure arsenic everywhere. A predictive model is necessary to estimate the distribution of a specific pollutant in groundwater. This study developed a logistic regression (LR) model to predict the residential well water quality in the Lanyang plain. Six hydrochemical parameters, pH, NO3- -N, NO2- -N, NH+ -N, Fe, and Mn, and a regional variable (binary type) were used to evaluate the probability of arsenic concentrations exceeding 10 microg/L in groundwater. The developed parsimonious LR model indicates that four parameters in the Lanyang plain aquifer, (pH, NH4+, Fe(aq), and a component to account for regional heterogeneity) can accurately predict probability of arsenic concentration > or =1 microg/Lin groundwater. These parameters provide an explanation for release of arsenic by reductive dissolution of As-rich FeOOH in NH4+ containing groundwater. A comparison of LR and indicator kriging (IK) show similar results in modeling the distributions of arsenic. LR can be applied to assess the probability of groundwater arsenic at sampled sites without arsenic concentration data apriori. However, arsenic sampling is still needed and required in arsenic-assessment stages in other areas, and the need for long-term monitoring and maintenance is not precluded.

Emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the pyrolysis of liquid crystal wastes.

A liquid crystal display can be described as a panel consisting of two plates of glass with liquid crystals in the space between. Generally, the liquid crystal wastes are extracted and separated into various fractions. Some recyclable materials, i.e., metals, glass, plastics, etc., are recycled, but the liquid crystals are incinerated. The emission factors for 16 U.S. EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the combustion of liquid crystal are approximately 390 and 1520 times higher than that of waste terephthalic acid and biological sludge combustion, respectively. In this study, we determined the emission of PAHs from the liquid crystals pyrolysis. We also investigated the fragments and gas compositions using on-line thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry (TG-MS). A temperature series of 14 fragments was analyzed in nitrogen, and was found to include m/z: 30, 32, 42, 44, 55, 57, 67, 81, 95, 109, 128, 166, 178, and 202. The fragments at m/z 32 represents formaldehyde and the fragment at m/z 44 is carbon dioxide. The fragments at m/z 55, 57, 67, 81, 95, and 109 represent hydrocarbon components, all of which may be liquid crystal by products. The TG-MS as analyzed above can offer a better understanding of the mechanisms of byproduct formation in liquid crystal waste pyrolysis. Experimentally, not detected (n.d.) -5.98 and n.d. -20.2 microg/g of 16 PAHs, in the particulate and gas phases, respectively, are determined from the emission of liquid crystal waste pyrolysis. The PAH profiles showed a predominance of naphthalene (42.6%) and phenanthrene (13.5%). The total PAH emissions for the 16 species were 7.75 and 44.05 microg/g in the particulate and gas phases, respectively, significantly lower than the values associated with liquid crystal combustion. From the viewpoint of PAH emission control, our results suggest that the pyrolysis is a better option for the disposal of liquid crystal wastes than that of combustion.

pH dependence of persulfate activation by EDTA/Fe(III) for degradation of trichloroethylene.

The ability of free ferrous ion activated persulfate (S(2)O(8)(2-)) to generate sulfate radicals (SO(4)(-)) for the oxidation of trichloroethylene (TCE) is limited by the scavenging of SO(4)(-) with excess Fe(2+) and a quick conversion of Fe(2+) to Fe(3+). This study investigated the applicability of ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) chelated Fe(3+) in activating persulfate for the destruction of TCE in aqueous phase under pH 3, 7 and 10. Fe(3+) and EDTA alone did not appreciably degrade persulfate. The presence of TCE in the EDTA/Fe(3+) activated persulfate system can induce faster persulfate and EDTA degradation due to iron recycling to activate persulfate under a higher pH condition. Increasing the pH leads to increases in pseudo-first-order-rate constants for TCE, S(2)O(8)(2-) and EDTA degradations, and Cl generation. Accordingly, the experiments at pH 10 with different EDTA/Fe(3+) molar ratios indicated that a 1/1 ratio resulted in a remarkably higher degradation rate at the early stage of reaction as compared to results by other ratios. Higher persulfate dosage under the EDTA/Fe(3+) molar ratio of 1/1 resulted in greater TCE degradation rates. However, increases in persulfate concentration may also lead to an increase in the rate of persulfate consumption.

Assessing carcinogenic risks associated with ingesting arsenic in farmed smeltfish (Ayu, Plecoglossus altirelis) in aseniasis-endemic area of Taiwan.

This study spatially analyzed potential carcinogenic risks associated with ingesting arsenic (As) contents in aquacultural smeltfish (Plecoglossus altirelis) from the Lanyang Plain of northeastern Taiwan. Sequential indicator simulation (SIS) was adopted to reproduce As exposure distributions in groundwater based on their three-dimensional variability. A target cancer risk (TR) associated with ingesting As in aquacultural smeltfish was employed to evaluate the potential risk to human health. The probabilistic risk assessment determined by Monte Carlo simulation and SIS is used to propagate properly the uncertainty of parameters. Safe and hazardous aquacultural regions were mapped to elucidate the safety of groundwater use. The TRs determined from the risks at the 95th percentiles exceed one millionth, indicating that ingesting smeltfish that are farmed in the highly As-affected regions represents a potential cancer threat to human health. The 95th percentile of TRs is considered in formulating a strategy for the aquacultural use of groundwater in the preliminary stage.

Persulfate oxidation of trichloroethylene with and without iron activation in porous media.

In situ chemical oxidation with persulfate anion (S2O82*) is a viable technique for remediation of groundwater contaminants such as trichloroethylene (TCE). An accelerated reaction using S2O82* to destroy TCE can be achieved via chemical activation with ferrous ion to generate sulfate radicals (SO4*)(E degrees =2.6 V). The column study presented here simulates persulfate oxidation of TCE in porous media (glass beads and a sandy soil). Initial experiments were conducted to investigate persulfate transport in the absence of TCE in the column. The persulfate flushing exhibited a longer residence time and revealed a moderate persulfate interaction with soils. In TCE treatment experiments, the results indicate that the water or persulfate solution would push dissolved TCE from the column. Therefore, the effluent TCE concentration gradually increased to a maximum when about one pore volume was replaced with the flushing solution in the column. The presence of Fe2+ concentration within the column caused a quick drop in effluent TCE concentration and more TCE degradation was observed. When a TCE solution was flushing through the soil column, breakthrough of TCE concentration in the effluent was relatively slow. In contrast, when the soil column was flushed with a mixed solution of persulfate and TCE, persulfate appeared to preferentially oxidize soil oxidizable matter rather than TCE during transport. Hence, persulfate oxidation of soil organics may possibly reduce the interaction between TCE and soil (e.g., adsorption) and facilitate the transport of TCE through soil columns resulting in faster breakthrough.

Bioaccumulation of arsenic compounds in aquacultural clams (Meretrix lusoria) and assessment of potential carcinogenic risks to human health by ingestion.

This study surveyed the total arsenic (As) and As species contents in clams (Meretrix lusoria) farmed in areas of hyperendemic blackfoot disease (BFD) in southwestern Taiwan. Total As and As species in sediment and pond water were also analyzed to examine the bioaccumulation of As in clams in their exposure environment. Moreover, potential carcinogenic risks associated with the ingestion of As in aquacultural clams were evaluated probabilistically. The average total As contents in medium-sized and small clams were 7.62 and 10.71 microg/g (dry wt), respectively. The content of the As species in this study was approximately 61% of the total As content. The other unquantified As species are possibly arsenocholine, arsenosugar and arsenolipid. The average ratios of inorganic As contents to total As contents in clams ranged from 12.3% to 14.0% which are much higher than that found in the farmed oyster (Crassostrea gigas), indicating that humans may expose to larger quantities of inorganic As by ingesting the same amount of clam as oyster. Using different ingestion rates derived by the average consumption method and the questionnaire method, the estimated risks to human health associated with consuming clams from the BFD area ranging from slightly to largely exceed the standard target risk. Based on the estimation of the TR model, a 0.18g/day-person of the safe ingestion rate of clams in the BFD region is recommended.

Assessing the human health risks from exposure of inorganic arsenic through oyster (Crassostrea gigas) consumption in Taiwan.

This study estimated the human health risk associated with ingesting inorganic arsenic through consumption of farmed oysters in Taiwan. Two hundred fifty-four samples of oyster (Crassostrea gigas) were collected from four townships in southwest coastal areas, where 90% of Taiwan's oysters are produced. The concentrations of total arsenic and arsenic species including As(V), As(III), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were analyzed. The analytical results reveal that the ratio of mean concentration among the four townships of inorganic As to total concentration of As in oysters is approximately 1.64%. The mean concentrations of As(III) and As(V) in oysters from the four townships range from 0.071 to 0.145 microg/g, and 0.032 to 0.062 microg/g respectively. The estimated target cancer risks (TR), based on a 95% occurrence probability from ingesting inorganic As by consuming oysters at a rate of 18.6-56 g/day, range from 1.26 x 10(-5) to 3.82 x 10(-5). The probabilities of TR fell within the range 10(-6)-10(-4), suggesting that inorganic As uptake from farmed oysters is associated with a potential cancer risk. Moreover, a target hazard quotient (THQ) was used to evaluate the non-carcinogenic risk associated with ingesting inorganic As through oyster consumption at a rate of 18.6-56 g/day. The THQ values based on a 95% probability of exposure range from 0.071 to 0.214. All THQ values are below unity, indicating that farmed oyster consumption contributes only a little to the non-carcinogenic risk. Based on the estimation of the TR model, an ingestion rate of 1.6 g/day is recommended to meet the 95th percentile of carcinogenic risk, 10(-6), for exposure to inorganic As through the consumption of oysters in Taiwan.