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JEH Volume 10 (2002), Paper 8, December 2002
Posted December 23, 2002
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK STUDIES APPLIED TO URBAN MANAGEMENT OF
WATER RESOURCES. CASE STUDY: AZUL, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA
Fabio Peluso
Eduardo Usunoff
Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras, Azul, Buenos Aires Province,
Argentina
ABSTRACT
In spite of international efforts in the last decades, access to safe
water supply cannot be guaranteed in many regions of the world. As a result,
waterborne diseases are the single, most common cause of death throughout
the world. In low-income countries, the lack of properly trained human resources
and funds are major drawbacks in evaluating the risks to human health from
drinking unsafe water, let aside making decisions on how the local water
resources are to be managed. This paper presents a simple methodology for
evaluating the environmental risk associated with a potentially unsafe water
supply. The methodology takes into account the concentration of harmful substances
in water, the rate of daily water consumption, the weight of humans exposed
(adults and children), as well as the reference dose of each given compound.
Simple combinations of these parameters are used to evaluate the risk, with
results that can then be converted into risk maps. The methodology has been
applied in Azul City, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, a medium-size town
with partial coverage of water supply and sanitation services. Taking the
block as the unit area, the results are quite useful to illustrate the potential
risk and, eventually, to show the path for much needed preemptive measures
by the local authorities.
Reference: Peluso, F., and E. Usunoff; Environmental Risk Studies
Applied to Urban Management of Water Resources. Case Study: Azzul, Buenos
Aires Province, Argentina, Journal of Environmental Hydrology, Vol. 10,
Paper 8, December 2002.
CONTACT:
Fabio Peluso
Instituto de Hidrologia des Llanuras
CC 44
7300 Azul (Pcia Buenos Aires)
Argentina
Email: ihlla@faa.unicen.edu.ar