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Dear Editor,
Chronic arsenic poisoning (arsenicosis) can result from drinking well water contaminated with high levels of arsenic over a long period of time. Drinking water poses the greatest threat to public health from arsenic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) set a limit of 0.01 mg/L of arsenic in drinking water. This was only based on the limit of detection of available testing equipment at the time when creating WHO guidelines. Recent findings show that consumption of water with levels as low as 0.00017 mg/L (about 60 times less than .01) over long periods of time can lead to arsenicosis.
Inorganic arsenic is a documented human carcinogen. It is found mostly as trivalent arsenite (As(III)) or pentavalent arsenate (As (V)) in natural waters (wells), and thus in drinking water.
Arsenic is well absorbed by oral routes (food and drinking water). We are exposed to arsenic through drinking water, and foods, especially when foods are prepared with arsenic water. Boiling arsenic water concentrates the arsenic and certain common foods cooked in this water can absorb and deliver higher concentrated doses.
Chronic arsenicosis takes place after prolonged exposure to inorganic arsenic over a lengthy period of time, it’s tougher to diagnose than “acute” arsenic poisoning.
For arsenicosis, the first changes are usually observed in skin, showing itself in dark or light spots on the skin (cutaneous hyper/hypopigmentation), thickening of the skin of palms of hands or soles of feet (hyperkeratosis), white lines (Mees' lines) on the fingernails, other skin conditions, and (cancerous malignancies) such as Bowen’s Disease.
Chronic exposure can also lead to other cancerous tumors inside the body, as well as a further damage to the lungs, liver, bladder, kidneys and other internal organs.
Cancer is a late phenomenon, and can take more than 10 years to develop. (Lillooet’s wells, which have tested over the maximum allowable concentration of arsenic before, have all been in operation for about 12 -15 years now). There are many studies suggesting many other negative health affects and conditions caused by and/or associated with low dose arsenicosis, such as peripheral circulatory disease and other disease processes.
Prevention and controls are required. People who run the risk of long-term exposure (drinking Lillooet well water) should get regular checkups and report any symptoms of chronic poisoning to their doctors.
The most important remedial action is prevention of further exposure by providing safe drinking water.
Trying to “fix” arsenic well water is problematic as a solution. The cost and difficulty of reducing arsenic in well water increases as the “targeted” MACs are ever lowered.
The cost and difficulty vary, by: the arsenic concentration in the source water, the chemical matrix of the water including interfering solutes and the amount of water to be treated. Control of arsenic is more complex where drinking water is obtained from many individual sources, such as wells.
Be proactive and aware of the exact amounts of arsenic in your drinking water at all times. Having access to, and knowing when to use an alternate water source, is an appropriate mitigating factor. Choose to drink any “safe alternate” water that is available (over arsenic water). “Safe” surface water (creeks and lakes) would be an acceptable and preferable option.
Know, that current arsenic testing methods, the arsenic levels labs can detect, reporting methods, and public notification may not protect you.
Crystal Kjarsgaard
Lillooet
