AWWA JAW50172

Several epidemiological studies have associated aluminum (Al) in drinking water with the incidence of Alzheimer's disease, despite the fact that water provides a relatively minor proportion of intake compared with other dietary sources. For Al from alum-teated drinking water to contribute markedly to blood Al, it would have to be much more bioavailable, i.e., more readily taken up from the gut into the bloodstream, than Al from food. The relative bioavailabilities of Al naturally present in food and in alum-treated drinking water (ATW) were determined using 29 healthy volunteers who drank, during two-day periods, ATW or pure water, with and without citrate, while on a controlled diet. Only 1-2 percent of the daily intake of Al came from ATW and only 0.3-0.4 percent of the Al in ATW was absorbed by the body - the same percentage as that absorbed from food. It was estimated that drinking 1.6 L/d of ATW containing 140 ug/L Al would contribute only 0.4-1.1 percent of the lifetime body burden of Al. Includes 30 references, tables, figures.