Using DPSEEA Framework to Investigate the Relation between Arsenic Concentration Values in Waters and Cancer Rates in AP Vojvodina (North Serbia)

Abstract

Naturally high arsenic concentrations are characteristic for the ground water of the Pannonian Basin which covers parts of Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovakia. The aim of this study is to empirically test the relation between arsenic concentration values in water and cancer rates (lung and bladder cancer) using the well-established cause-effect framework (model) of Driving force–Pressure–State–Exposure–Effect–Action (DPSEEA) and systematically collected data in the AP Vojvodina (Northern Serbia). Two models were tested in this study. The first one was the Three-Element Model used for analysing the linkage between the state element (arsenic concentration values), the exposure element (water access), and the effect element (cancer rates). The second model was the Effect-Action Model for the analysis of the association between the effect element (cancer rates) and the action element (monitoring intensity). Both models confirm the intrinsic validity of the four elements of the DPSEEA framework. A linear function tested in the second model suggests that the association is not a simple, linear relationship between the four elements, but rather a more complex interaction. Research in this field may find a wider application in improving the health care management in Serbia.