A Spoonful of Water Makes the Arsenic Go Down
In many places across the country water sources are tainted with arsenic. Even well water can have arsenic in it. Arsenic is a toxic chemical element that is unevenly distributed in the Earth’s crust in soil, rocks and minerals. When present in ground water, naturally occurring arsenic is largely the result of minerals dissolving from weathered rocks and soils. In 2001 the EPA lowered the maximum level of arsenic permitted in drinking water from 50 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms per liter. This change has led many municipalities across the country scrambling to find ways to filter this contaminant. For example, in Orange County, California there are 4 water sources and 3 water systems that have been identified with peak arsenic detections greater than 10 micrograms per liter.
A 2007 study found that over 137 million people in more than 70 countries are probably affected by arsenic poisoning of drinking water. In the United States, millions of private wells have unknown arsenic levels, and in some areas over 20% of wells contain levels that are not safe. In a February 2000 report, the National Resources Defense Council analyzed data compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on arsenic in drinking water in 25 states. From the data collected, most conservative estimates indicate that more than 34 million Americans were drinking tap water supplied by systems containing levels of arsenic that posed unacceptable cancer risks. It is likely that as many as 56 million people in those 25 states were drinking water with arsenic at unsafe levels-and that is just the 25 states that reported arsenic information to the EPA.
Arsenic is a carcinogen which causes many cancers including skin, lung and bladder, as well as cardiovascular disease. Even lower concentrations of arsenic contamination can raise the risk of several serious diseases. It’s a good idea to know what your drinking water contains to keep you and your family healthy.
Another study had preliminary findings of a relationship between arsenic exposure and Type II diabetes. The results supported the hypothesis that low levels of exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water may play a role in diabetes prevalence. Arsenic in drinking water may also compromise immune system function. In May of 2009 scientists linked the lack of immune system response to the H1N1 flu virus to even a low level of arsenic exposure. For example, the H1N1 virus outbreak was greater in Mexico than in the US. Mexico has large areas of very high arsenic in their well water, and the flu first became epidemic in the areas with the highest arsenic concentrations. It was found that while a normal person infected with the flu would immediately develop an immune response where immune cells rush to the lungs and produce chemicals that help fight the infection, those with prolonged exposure to arsenic might have a delayed response in immune cells. The Dartmouth Medical School did a study on mice that had ingested 100 ppb (parts per billion) arsenic in their drinking water for 5 weeks, the immune response to H1N1 infection was at first very feeble, and when a response finally did kick in days later, it was too little and too late.
Arsenic exposure not only disrupts the immune system, it also disrupts the hormonal system. It disrupts the pathways of all five steroid hormone receptors as well as several other hormone pathways. This one effect could play a role in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, reproductive and developmental disorders – all the diseases that have a strong hormonal component. At present, the Dartmouth Medical Researchers are focused on understanding the unusual “biphasic” effect that arsenic has on the endocrine system. At very low doses, arsenic stimulates or enhances hormone responses, while at slightly higher doses (still within the range found in drinking water); it suppresses these same hormone responses. They want to figure out this switch in order to better understand why arsenic does what it does in the human body.
Arsenic does not accumulate in the body over a life time; it goes right through like table salt. Therefore, for arsenic to have health consequences, it requires exposure day after day, year after year, just like it would be through drinking water. One University of New Hampshire researcher, Carol Ladd, stated “If your water is high in arsenic, you may not want to drink it, or cook rice or spaghetti or other things that absorb a lot of water.”
As dangerous as the effects are in adults, the effects on children’s health and development are equally disturbing. Researchers have studied well-water supplies from more than 200 children and their families, finding that the water supplies of 55 of the first 92 participants had arsenic levels that exceeded federal guidelines. The research into the connection between arsenic levels in groundwater and children’s IQ levels is drawing attention to the frequency of arsenic in water. Maps directly correlate high arsenic concentrations with lower intelligence levels. Perhaps the “dumbing down” of America isn’t to be blamed on education and the school systems?
After learning all the effects that continual exposure to arsenic can have on the body, it is time to consider your water source. If your water comes from a municipal or privately-owned water company that has more than 15 service connections or serves 25 people more than 6 months of a year, they are already testing for arsenic in your water. Every year, your community water system should send out a consumer confidence report (water quality report) listing any levels of arsenic detected. The EPA also requires all community and non-transient, non-community water systems to give you public notice when their water supply violates the arsenic standard. However, if you have your own household water supply, you are responsible for maintaining and testing it. Your first step is to contact your local health department to find out whether arsenic is a contaminant of concern in your area. Your state’s drinking water agency can then give you names of laboratories that are certified to test drinking water.
Most arsenic enters water supplies from either natural deposits in the earth or from industrial and agricultural pollution. Arsenic is a natural element of the earth’s crust. It is used in industry and agriculture, and for other purposes. It also is a byproduct of copper smelting, mining, and coal burning. U. S. industries release thousands of pounds of arsenic into the environment every year. Some arsenic contamination results from leaching from old waste dumps, mines or tailings, or from past use of arsenic-containing pesticides. In other cases, arsenic in drinking water is caused by continuing industrial pollution. Government officials, water system managers, and citizens can join forces to ensure that polluters are held accountable for cleaning up contaminated sites and reducing or eliminating new arsenic pollution. In addition, readily available treatments can remove arsenic from tap water.
If you feel the quality of your water source is in doubt, you can look into a home drinking water treatment system. There are some systems that contain filters and/or purifiers to give you a cost-effective way of providing a continuous supply of clean water without buying bottled water. Many of these systems are available with lease or purchase options in order to maintain their affordability. Often the company these systems come from will take care of the maintenance, filters and repairs of the systems on their lease programs. This way consumers can lease and relax, it only takes a phone call to have the system maintained.
Many people think that purchasing water is a safe and inexpensive solution. The truth of the matter is, bottled water is not necessarily any safer than tap water. Often it is nothing more than tap water that may or may not have been filtered. The main thing is to research your water supply and be informed about its condition. Then make an informed decision about how to have clean drinking water. Information is the best solution to any problem and is the best way to guarantee your own safety.
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Tags: A Spoonful, Arsenic, Go Down, Wate