Arsenik i dricksvatten - Hälsorisker samt riskbedömning av VA SYDs vattentäkt vid f.d. Grevie skjutbana

Sammanfattning: Water is one of our most valuable resources and polluted water is possibly harmful to both humans and the environment. It is hence of great importance to maintain high quality in drinking water to protect human health. A large number of different contaminants and toxins spread in the environment have the potential to contaminate groundwater. One of these pollutants is arsenic originating from ammunition which has been spread from shooting ranges. This study aims to examine what risks arsenic polluted drinking water generally can cause to human health. Furthermore, a risk assessment was performed to investigate whether there is any risk for arsenic to contaminate drinking water wells used by the regional administrtor VA SYD. The wells are located close to a former shooting range in Grevie, southern Sweden. The methods used in this study are a literature and document analysis, interviews and a field study. Results from this study show that exposure to arsenic contaminated drinking water can cause damage to processes and organs in the entire body, which in both long and short terms can lead to death. As arsenic poisoning cannot be cured, risk management focuses on reducing arsenic at the source. Based on prevailing geological and hydrogeological conditions in Grevie, the risk of arsenic reaching VA SYD's raw water was estimated as small to moderate. However, it is important to point out that the risk assessment needs to be supplemented with additional background material in order to confirm the results of this study. In order to ensure continued high quality of raw water, future measures such as analysis of arsenic and careful placement and design of any new drinking water wells, need to be conducted by VA SYD.