Date of Last Revision
2023-05-03 05:10:21
Major
Civil Engineering
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2018
Abstract
The cancer exposure risk from drinking chlorine-based disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) has been established as a major concern to public health as 98% of the United States drinking water systems in operation use chlorinated systems to disinfect the water they provide [2]. Using data collected from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency from January 2014 to September 2017 in the cites of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Canton, and Akron this study attempts to look at the risk of cancer caused by the DBPs. To show the relative risk of several different systems in operation from the state of Ohio cancer exposure risk values were used to show the varying levels of risk of cancer from each of the studied drinking water systems. This study used an assumed ingestion rate of 2.0 liters per day of drinking water. With additional data, these risk values can be used to calculate disability-adjusted life years which are a standard measure of cancer exposure risk used by the World Health Organization. The highest averaging city system that was found during the duration of the study time was Akron (cancer exposure risk of 1.5927) which was 267 percent more likely that the lowest averaging risk was in Canton (cancer exposure risk of 0.5962). The highest recorded cancer exposure risk value from a single sampling site was in Akron (cancer exposure risk of 3.7889) which is 237 percent of the average value. This study attempted to use cancer exposure risk values to assess the relative cancer exposure risk factors of five cites in Ohio which will help in the prioritization of programs to reduce THMs and HAAs in the water provided by these systems.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Christopher Miller
First Reader
Dr. Stephen Duirk
Second Reader
Mr. Robert Bunnell
Recommended Citation
Sykes, Stephen, "An Assessment of Trihalomethanes and Haloacetic Acids on the Cancer Exposure Risk of Ohio Drinking Water Systems" (2018). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 738.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/738