Analysis of Cumulative Cancer Risk Associated with Disinfection Byproducts in United States Drinking Water

Hundreds of different disinfection byproducts form in drinking water following necessary treatment with chlorine and other disinfectants, and many of those byproducts can damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer. This study offers the first side-by-side comparison of cancer risk assessments based on toxicological and epidemiological studies of disinfection byproducts using a comprehensive contaminant occurrence dataset for haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes, two groups of disinfection byproducts that are regulated in drinking water. We also provide the first analysis of a new occurrence dataset for unregulated haloacetic acids that became available from the latest, fourth round of the U.S. EPA-mandated unregulated contaminant monitoring program (UCMR4). A toxicological assessment indicated that haloacetic acids, and in particular brominated haloacetic acids, are more carcinogenic and are associated with a greater number of attributable cancer cases than trihalomethanes. Based on the toxicological analysis, cumulative lifetime cancer risk due to exposure to trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids for community water systems monitored under UCMR4, estimated with standard default parameters for body weight and water intake, corresponds to 7.0 × 10 −5 (3.5 × 10 −5 –1.3 × 10 −4 ). The same analysis conducted with age sensitivity factors to account for elevated risk in infants and children yielded a cumulative risk estimate of 2.9 × 10 −4 (1.7 × 10 −4 –6.2 × 10 −4 ). Epidemiological data suggest that lifetime cancer risk from disinfection byproducts for the U.S. population served by community water systems is approximately 3.0 × 10 −3 (2.1 × 10 −4 –5.7 × 10 −3 ), or a lifetime cancer risk of three cases per thousand people. Overall, this analysis highlights the value of using human data in health risk assessments to the greatest extent possible.