Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Natural Resources and the Environment, PO Box 320, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2013 Jul;93:171-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.03.032. Epub 2013 May 10.
Water quality has deteriorated in the upper Olifants River system, South Africa, as a result of land use activities which include mining, agriculture and industries. A health risk assessment was conducted from 2009 to 2011 in the catchment to determine the possible risks local communities face from various pollutants such as microbials, heavy metals and oestrogen in the river water and vegetation. Aluminium and manganese accumulated in plants and vanadium and aluminium concentrations found in selective water samples posed significant health risks when consumed. A quantitative microbial risk assessment revealed that the combined risk of infection ranged from 1 to 26 percent with the Norovirus posing the overall greatest health risk. The anticipated disability adjusted life years resulting from drinking untreated water from these sites are in the order of 10,000 times greater than what is considered acceptable. The oestradiol activity, caused by endocrine disrupting compounds in the water, measured above the trigger value of 0.7ngL(-1). Impoverished communities in the area, who partially depend on river water for potable and domestic use, are exposed to immune-compromising metals that increase their probability of infection from waterborne diseases caused by the excess microbial pathogens in the contaminated surface water.
南非奥利凡茨河上游水系的水质因采矿、农业和工业等土地利用活动而恶化。2009 年至 2011 年，在该流域进行了健康风险评估，以确定当地社区可能面临的各种污染物（如水中的微生物、重金属和雌激素，以及植被中的污染物）带来的风险。铝和锰在植物中积累，在选择性水样中发现的钒和铝浓度在被摄入时构成重大健康风险。定量微生物风险评估显示，感染的综合风险范围为 1%至 26%，其中诺如病毒带来的总体健康风险最大。从这些地点饮用未经处理的水导致的预期伤残调整生命年是可接受水平的约 10000 倍。水中内分泌干扰化合物导致的雌二醇活性超过了 0.7ng/L(-1)的触发值。该地区较为贫困的社区部分依赖河水作为饮用水和家庭用水，他们接触到会削弱免疫系统的金属，增加了因受污染地表水过多的微生物病原体而感染水传播疾病的可能性。
