Arseeni Pirkanmaalla - esiintyminen, riskinarviointi ja riskinhallinta (Summary and conclusions in English: Arsenic in the Pirkanmaa region in Finland: Occurrence in the Environment, Risk Assessment and Risk Management. Final results of the RAMAS project)

Abstract

The RAMAS Project has investigated the occurrence of arsenic in the Tampere re- gion (Pirkanmaa) and has endeavored to assess the potentially arising health and eco- logical risks in regional scale, followed by the presentation of recommendations for the preventive and remediation actions. The three-year project (2004-2007) received nancial support from the LIFE Environment -program. The implementing partners were the Geological Survey of Finland, the Helsinki University of Technology, the Pirkanmaa Regional Environment Centre, the Finnish Environment Institute, the Agrifood Research Finland, Esko Rossi Oy and Kemira Kemwater. As a part of the work the project has mapped the areas where the natural arsenic con- centrations are elevated in bedrock, the soil cover or in ground water and surface waters. Also arsenic contents in arable land, crops, and in some wild berries and mushrooms were studied. Correspondingly, the most important potential anthropogenic sources have been located and evaluated. As to the health risk, the potable water from drilled wells turned out to be the main exposure route. The exposure for arsenic was demonstrated in the biomonitoring study. Arsenic concentrations in urine were clearly elevated among those households using arsenic-bearing well water. Additionally, an epidemiological survey showed that certain cancer types linked to arsenic are statistically more frequent in those areas where the limit of arsenic in well waters is commonly exceeded. Many of the local municipali- ties have made major efforts to extend the public water supply network to the areas suf- fering from elevated arsenic concentrations. This work is very important and should be continued. Arsenic is not a problem in arable lands and also the intake of plants seems to be very low. However, it is less appreciated that locally both the till cover and bed- rock in the region may contain naturally high arsenic concentrations. The most important anthropogenic arsenic sources in the region include few wood treatment plants, which have utilized copper-chromium-arsenic solutions in their production and closed sulphide mine sites. The environmental and ecological risks related to the various arsenic sources have been evaluated and the targets requiring remediation measures most urgently have been identi- ed. It is evident that preventive decisions made already during the planning phases of land use are the most effective risk management. The zone of naturally enriched arsenic extends southwards from the Tampere Region, through the Province of Häme towards the metropolitan area of Helsinki. Therefore, the work carried out will also bene t other parts of Finland. The Project outcome has been presented in numerous conferences held in Europe as well. Since arsenic is known to be a much more severe health and environmental problem in many other EU countries, such as Hungary and Romania, the risk management procedure developed in the RAMAS Project is expected to rise interest in other EU countries as well. The RAMAS Project has published several reports and risk area maps, which can be downloaded from the project’s website: www.gsf. /projects/ramas.