Nontarget Chemical Analysis of California Drinking Water
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Breast cancer rates vary widely across California. Differential exposures to environmental contaminants, e.g., via drinking water, is one possible contributor. California’s public water supplies come from diverse sources and are subject to varying degrees and types of treatment. Rapid advances in chemical detection technologies allow a much broader range of potential carcinogens to be sensitively detected in water supplies. In this project, tap water will be collected twice from 120 California households receiving their water from one of 8 public suppliers. Bottled water (30 samples) will also be tested for comparison. Half of the household water systems tested will be located within areas of concern for elevated breast cancer rates. Water samples will also be tested for the presence of compounds that may interfere with the endocrine system, one potential pathway to breast cancer. 
 Research question(s) or central hypotheses: 
 1. Which water sources are associated with the highest levels of endocrine disrupting compounds or known cancer causing agents? Are these water sources in communities with historically elevated breast cancer rates compared with areas with lower rates? How do these compounds vary across households within a particular water system? 
 2. How do water treatment processes, particularly disinfection and advanced treatment operations influence the levels and identities of estrogen active or carcinogenic compounds present in water supplies? 
 General methodology: Chemicals present in the water samples will be analyzed using a variety of techniques capable of detecting a very large range of compounds. Analytical results will be screened for a long list of potential cancer-causing agents and chemicals that may disrupt endocrine function. Sophisticated data analysis approaches will be used to discover compounds that contribute to observed endocrine disrupting activity. Significant differences between chemical profiles and endocrine activity in drinking water will be statistically compared between areas with different breast cancer rates, areas relying on different types of source water and treatment technology, neighborhoods with different poverty rates, and across seasons. 
 Innovative elements: This study will be the largest systematic investigation ever conducted of unmonitored potential carcinogens in diverse drinking water sources, and it will provide statewide estimates of exposure to potential carcinogens and endocrine disrupting compounds. It employs an innovative and integrated application of four distinct organic compound detection technologies that have recently been validated for environmental monitoring applications but have never been jointly applied to drinking water. The advanced instrumentation and data processing technologies used will provide an unprecedented level of detail in characterizing compounds present in drinking water and their potential to promote cancer formation. An innovative study design will allow us to determine whether compounds of concern arise from water source type, local or regional land uses, treatment system decisions, or household level factors. Findings from this study will inform possible changes in treatment plant operation and/or household behavior to reduce exposures to contaminants that may contribute to breast cancer formation. 
 Advocacy involvement and relevance to the human issues associated with breast cancer: Breast cancer research and advocacy groups will provide most of the members on the Project Advisory Committee, which will be actively involved in all aspects of study design, implementation, and dissemination of results. Advocacy groups will also lead the development of the communication plan to disseminate findings at the conclusion of the project in ways that are sensitive to the concerns of breast cancer patients and survivors and the broader community.