DRINKING-WATER MUTAGENICITY AND LEUKEMIA, LYMPHOMAS, AND CANCERS OF THE LIVER, PANCREAS, AND SOFT-TISSUE

The acid, mutagenic compounds present in chlorinated drinking water ha ve caused concern about the potential cancer risk of drinking-water mu tagenicity. In this study, past exposure to drinking water mutagenicit y was assessed for the years 1955 and 1970 in 56 Finnish municipalitie s, using the historical information on water quality and treatment. Ca ses of leukemia, lymphomas, and cancers of the liver, pancreas, and so ft tissue were derived from the Finnish Cancer Registry for two period s: 1966-1976 and 1977-1989. Relative risk was estimated in an additive Poisson regression model, adjusting for age, gender, social class, ur banity, and time period. In an ordinary municipality that was supplied with mutagenic drinking water (3 000 net rev/l), the observed exposur e-response relationship indicated a relative risk of 1.1-1.3 for lymph omas and 1.1-1.2 for pancreatic cancer, compared with municipalities i n which nonmutagenic drinking water was consumed.