US drinking water quality: exposure risk profiles for seven legacy and emerging contaminants
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing contaminant profiles and regulatory challenges without systematic search methodology.
OpenAlex W4386955528 · doi:10.1038/s41370-023-00597-z
What was done
The authors conducted a narrative review summarizing exposure risk profiles and health effects for seven legacy and emerging US drinking water contaminants: arsenic, disinfection by-products, fracking-related substances, lead, nitrate, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and uranium. The review also examined US public water system structures, regulatory frameworks, and systemic vulnerabilities including aging infrastructure, climate change, child-care settings, and health disparities affecting Indigenous and marginalized communities.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative values or statistical effect sizes. It reports qualitative findings that exposure profiles, health risks, and water reliability vary widely across US populations and regions depending on water source, local geography, infrastructure deterioration, industrial activity, and social determinants.
Why it matters
This review compiles multi-contaminant health risks alongside structural and regulatory challenges to outline priorities for water quality mitigation and public health interventions across US drinking water systems.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative data, search syntax, inclusion/exclusion criteria, or study counts. As a narrative review, it is prone to selection bias and provides descriptive synthesis rather than systematic risk quantification.
Cited by
- context The Environmental Working Group reported that over 122 million Americans drink tap water containing high levels of chemicals known to cause cancer.