Several studies have shown the presence of many
organic mutagenic and carcinogenic agents in drinking
waters and epidemiological studies have highlighted a
cancer risk for populations using chlorinated drinking
water from surface sources [15]. Some epidemiological
studies concerning the relationship between drinkingwater
mutagenicity and cancer mortality have recently
been carried out in Finland, where the results indicated a
potential relationship between exposure to mutagens in
drinking water and the risk of lymphomas, pancreatic
cancer [16] and bladder, rectal, kidney and stomach
cancers [17,18].