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Throughout the years, many studies reported dose-dependent effects of arsenic in drinking water and skin cancer. In order to prevent new cases and death from cancerous and non-cancerous diseases, the Safe Drinking Water Act directed the Environmental Protection Agency to revise arsenic's levels and specified the maximum contaminant level (MCL).
The problem became a serious health concern after mass poisoning of water in Bangladesh. [1] Arsenic contamination of ground water is found in many countries throughout the world, including the US. [2] The World Health Organization recommends limiting arsenic concentrations in water to 10 μg/L, although this is often an unattainable goal for ...
The toxic effects of arsenic, mercury and lead were known to the ancients but methodical studies of the overall toxicity of heavy metals appear to date from only 1868. In that year, Wanklyn and Chapman speculated on the adverse effects of the heavy metals "arsenic, lead, copper, zinc, iron and manganese" in drinking water. They noted an ...
The Department of Environmental Protection for New Jersey set a drinking water limit of 5 ppb in 2006. [198] The IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) value for arsenic metal and inorganic arsenic compounds is 5 mg/m 3 (5 ppb).
People can experience acute health effects from almost any contaminant if they are exposed to extraordinarily high levels (as in the case of a spill). In drinking water, microbes, such as bacteria and viruses, are the contaminants with the greatest chance of reaching levels high enough to cause acute health effects. [34]
For instance, if arsenic is detected in tap water from a given well, the detected concentrations should be compared with regulatory thresholds for allowable levels of arsenic in drinking water. If the detected levels are consistently lower than these limits, arsenic may not be a chemical of potential concern for the purposes of this risk ...
Contaminated drinking water could transmit diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid, diarrhea and polio. [65] Harmful chemicals in drinking water can negatively affect health. Unsafe water management practices can increase the prevalence of water-borne diseases and sanitation-related illnesses.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element and can be found in food, water, or air. There are also industrial sources of arsenic, including mining and smelting. [8] "People are exposed to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic through drinking contaminated water, using contaminated water in food preparation and irrigation of food crops, industrial ...