Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
additive to some of their water supplies. (Arsenic can be an issue else-
where, too—as far west as California.) The state of New Jersey even
offers free water-testing kits to enable people to test for arsenic.
Some possible symptoms of arsenic poisoning, according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, include the following:
Thickening and discoloration of the skin
Stomach pain, nausea, vomiting
Diarrhea
Numbness in hands and feet
Partial paralysis
Blindness
Arsenic also has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs,
skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate.
For more information, check out the EPA's arsenic information
pages at http://epa.gov/safewater/arsenic/index.html.
In certain sediments and under certain conditions, arsenic can dis-
solve over time into groundwater supplies and can be especially prev-
alent in bedrock aquifer wells, also known as deep or artesian wells.
This conclusion appears in a study by the USGS, National Cancer
Institute (National Institutes of Health), Dartmouth Medical School,
and the state departments of health in Maine, New Hampshire, and
Vermont. That study,
9
released in 2006, cites geology as the primary
factor related to arsenic in groundwater wells. “Arsenic in groundwater
used for private or a public water supply is a signifi cant public health
concern,” said Robert W. Varney, then regional administrator of the
EPA's New England offi ce. “To protect families, the EPA recommends
that private well owners routinely test their drinking water for arsenic.”
A NO- WIN SITUATION
In 2007, Los Angeles announced that it would have to drain two of its
reservoirs because of bromate contamination. The bromate formed
when water was treated with chlorine and exposed to sunlight.
Chlorine is added to most drinking water at treatment plants.
