Probabilistic framework for assessing the arsenic exposure risk from cooked fish consumption.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Toxicology
• Public Health

Background:

• Geogenic arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is a significant environmental and health issue in Taiwan.
• Aquaculture in contaminated groundwater raises concerns about arsenic transfer to fish and subsequent human exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a probabilistic framework for assessing human health risks associated with consuming arsenic-contaminated fish from Taiwan.
• To evaluate the impact of different cooking methods (baking, frying, grilling) on arsenic levels and associated health risks.

Main Methods:

• Integrated a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model with a Weibull dose-response model.
• Simulated human health risks from consuming raw and cooked fish cultured in arsenic-contaminated ponds.
• Analyzed the influence of cooking methods on arsenic concentration in fish.

Main Results:

• Arsenic levels increased in baked, fried, and grilled fish compared to raw fish, with frying causing the largest increase.
• Consumption of baked arsenic-contaminated fish posed minimal health risks (<10^-6 excess bladder cancer risk).
• Fried arsenic-contaminated fish consumption led to significant health risks, particularly elevated liver cancer incidence, with males at higher risk than females.

Conclusions:

• Baking is a recommended cooking method for arsenic-contaminated fish to minimize human health risks.
• Frying arsenic-contaminated fish poses considerable health risks and should be avoided.
• Post-cooking arsenic concentration is a critical factor in human health risk assessment for contaminated food sources.