What you should know about arsenic in Drinking water- the truth
Posted on July 31st, 2011

Samarasinghe

Arsenic contamination is becoming an increasingly common problem not only in the developing world, but alsoƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in the most industrialised nations.

Any urban water distribution system in Sri Lanka may contain arsenic in the pipe water. Well water may also contain high arsenic content depend upon the location and hardness of water. The content will not be known until proper tests are carried out. 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.

Arsenic poisoning brings with it other complications: liver and spleen enlargement and cirrhosis of the liver; myocardial degeneration and cardiac failure; peripheral neuropathy affecting primary sensory functions; diabetes mellitus and goitre; and skin cancers.

Three types of skin cancers are observed: BowenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s disease (form of squamous cell carcinoma); basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. These cancers develop primarily from keratosis.

“Another unfortunate and complicating fact about arsenic poisoning,” Hiroki Hashizume adds, “is that it generally takes from seven to 10 years, sometimes longer, for the disease to be recognized. When it finally is, it may be too late to treat.” Professor Robert Goyer, who headed a nine-member commission of the US National Academies of Science, says its findings bolster a 1999 study by the Academy that found that men and women who drink every day water with 10 ppb of arsenic have an increased risk of more than 3 in 1000 of developing bladder or lung cancer during their lifetime. That risk rises to 7 in 1000 at 20 ppb.

Arsenic is a compound that should be more closely monitored by parents, teachers and children because of its fatal results. The three main methods of exposure are contact, ingestion and inhalation. Regardless of the method of exposure all can produce basically the same symptoms.

If your village or the town has high rate of these diseases, get your ground water tested by a certified authority.(or use a recommended Arsenic Field test kit -Evaluation of arsenic field test kits for drinking water naalysis -By J. Mitchell Spear, You Mark Zhou, Charles A.Cole and Yuefeng F.Xie http://www.sensafe.com/arsenictests/AWWA%20Arsenic%20field%20tests%20Dec06%20article.pdf)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ New legislation In the US

On Jan 22.2001, the US Enviromental Protection Agency (USEPA) published the final Aesenic Rule, which specified an effective compliance date of Jan23,2006 (USEPA,2001). This rule lowers the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic from 50 to 10 ppb. It is estimated that nearly 4000 water utilities in the United State are affected, and about 97% of them are small public drinking water systems serving fewer tan 10,000 people.(Komminneni et al, 2002;Frey & Edwards, 1997). The USEPA also published best available technologies and small system compliance technologiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  (SSCT) to aid small water system in complying with the new arsenic MCL of 10 ppb.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Drinking water provided by most water utility companies in US meets or falls below the current national standard for arsenic, which is 10 parts per billion (ppb). However, some water systems may exceed this level. While arsenic levels may fluctuate over time, what is most significant from the standpoint of cancer risk is long-term exposure. For water systems in the 25 states that reported arsenic data to the EPA, we have calculated two estimates of average long-term levels: one is a very conservative estimate, the other our best estimate, based on what we believe to be the most reasonable analytical techniques (details on how we arrived at the estimates are included with the charts).

While arsenic levels may fluctuate over time, what is most significant from the standpoint of cancer risk is long-term exposure. For water systems in the 25 states that reported arsenic data to the EPA, we have calculated two estimates of average long-term levels: one is a very conservative estimate, the other our best estimate, based on what we believe to be the most reasonable analytical techniques (details on how we arrived at the estimates are included with the charts).

The table below shows the lifetime risks of dying of cancer from arsenic in tap water, based on the National Academy of Sciences’ 1999 risk estimates (see our report for details on how we calculated total cancer risk).

Arsenic Level in Tap Water
(in parts per billion, or ppb)
Approximate Total Cancer Risk
(assuming 2 liters consumed/day)
0.5 ppb 1 in 10,000
1 ppb 1 in 5,000
3 ppb 1 in 1,667
4 ppb 1 in 1,250
5 ppb 1 in 1,000
10 ppb 1 in 500
20 ppb 1 in 250
25 ppb 1 in 200
50 ppb 1 in 100

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Carcinogen category notice: Category 1. Established human carcinogen known to be carcinogenic to humans. There is sufficient evidence to establish a causal association between human exposure to these substances and the development of cancer.

Degrees of toxicity:
As (III) > As (V) > Organic arsenic compounds.

Arsenic poisoning does cause a variety of systemic problems when and if an individual does get the toxic of arsenic poisoning. The typical symptoms are; diaphoresis, muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, garlic odour to the breath, diarrhoea, anuria, dehydration, hypertension, cardiovascular collapse, aplastic anaemia and death. The degree to which symptoms a person has will be determined by the severity of the exposure.

Regardless of the method of the exposure toxic event can end in the same result, death!

Grade I Mild a) Diffuse melanosis.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  b) Suspicious spotty depigmentation / pigmentation over trunk/limbs
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  c) Mild diffuse thickening of soles and palms.
Grade II Moderate a)Definite spotty pigmentation /depigmentation on the trunk and limbs, bilaterally distributed.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  b) Severe diffuse thickening (with/without wart like nodules of the palms and soles).
Gradelll Severe a) Definite spotty pigmentation/depigmentation as above with few blotchy pigmented/depigmented macular patches over trunks or limbs
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  b) Pigmentation involving the undersurface of tongue and/or buccal mucosa.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  c) Larger nodules over thickened palms and soles occasionally over dorsal aspect of hands and feet. Diffuse verrucous lesions of the soles with cracks and fissures and keratotic horns over palms/soles.

Guha Mazumder et. al 2001

Tani, 1999 classified affected villagers as 1 were suffering from malanosis (hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation). Villagers in category 2 were suffering from melanosis and keratosis on the hands and/or feet. Villagers in category 3 were the most severely affected and were suffering from melanosis and developed (late stage) keratosis on the hands and/or feet. This classification is similar to that proposed by A.W Khan (WHO 1997). He suggested that arsenicosis could be categorised into 3 sequential stages:

  • ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚·ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  1. Melanosis;
  • ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚·ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  2. Keratosis with or without anaemia, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, gastroenteritis and blackfoot disease;
  • ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚·ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  3. Developed keratosis and skin cancer.

Arsenic is a metal compound that can easily find its way into the environment and the human population. The substance is found in our water, soil, food products. Even though we have governmental guidelines for controlling such toxic “substances” or “compounds” on a daily basis, we drink contaminated water and eat contaminated food products. This will lead to some degree of arsenic poisoning in each of us, according to Joe Harrison the technical director of Water Quality Association. Daily consumption of water with greater than 50 micrograms per liter of arsenic less than 1 % of the fatal dose, can lead to problems with skin, circulatory and nervous systems3. Greater problems can occur if the arsenic poisoning is of a chronic nature and resulting in neural disorders, vital organ damage and eventually death.

Arsenic is a compound that should be more closely monitored by parents, teachers and children because of its fatal results. The three main methods of exposure are contact, ingestion and inhalation. Regardless of the method of exposure all can produce basically the same symptoms. For more info. go to http://www.sos-arsenic.net/english/contamin/index.html

Chronic Arsenic Poisoning:History, Study and Remediation
http://www.physics.harvard.edu/~wilson/arsenic/measurement/arsenic_project_measurement.html

Several arsenic test kits and sensors have been evaluated by the EPA Environmental Technology Verification program in USA. Information on these technologies can be found at http://www.epa.gov/etv/verifications/vcenter1-21.html.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ACCURATE ARSENIC TESTINGTest strip technologyy advances make difficult arrseniic detection a thing of the past.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Industrial Test Systems, Inc. features an array of Arsenic QuickƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢¢”š¬…¾ƒ”š‚¢ test kits that provide accurate results at affordable prices. Designed using cutting edge chemistry, our easy-to-use test kits report results for Arsenic(III&V) from 0.3ppb in as few as 12 minutes without the need for technical training. Performance and accuracy of these kits have been verified by the USEPA though

the ETV program (www.epa.gov/etv). We invite you to see why the QuickƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢¢”š¬…¾ƒ”š‚¢ line of Arsenic test kits from ITS are recognizedthroughout the world as premium Arsenic field test kits.
http://www.sensafe.com/PDF/Arsenic%20Kit%20Flyer%2001-06-11.pdf

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Inorganic Arsenic in Rice – An Underestimated Health Threat

China: Inorganic Arsenic in Rice – An Underestimated Health Threat ?
A Chinese research group now investigated the health risks for the Chinese population. Twenty-two rice samples from 13 provinces of China were analyzed for their arsenic content. Total arsenic content was determined by ICP-QMS after microwave-assisted digestion. Total As concentration ranged 65.3-274.2 ng g-1, with an average value of 114.4 ng g-1.

http://www.speciation.net/News/China-Inorganic-Arsenic-in-Rice–An-Underestimated-Health-Threat–;~/2010/05/19/5027.html

Surprisingly high concentrations of toxic arsenic species found in U.S. rice

Rice grown in the USA has up to five times higher levels of arsenic than those found in rice grown in Europe, India and Bangladesh, says a report in the August 2005 edition of Environmental Science and Technology.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ http://www.speciation.net/News/Surprisingly-high-concentrations-of-toxic-arsenic-species-found-in-US-rice-;~/2005/08/03/1561.html

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Arsenic. An environmental problem limited by solubility*

M. Clara F. MagalhƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚£esƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¡

Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, P-3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The aqueous solutions in equilibrium with these metal arsenates have extremely high arsenic concentrations [6,17,28]. These, in general, can be 200 times the maximum contaminant level for total arsenic in potable water and often exceed the maximum contaminant level for total arsenic content in treated sewage effluents and wastes.

Some dissolved arsenic can be precipitated as a rich calcium arsenate solid whose composition will be related to the composition of the aqueous solutions [7]. As can be seen from data in Table 1, these solids are moderately soluble to be effective in the reduction of arsenic mobility in the environment. Table 1 only reports the solubility of well-defined solid phases. Other values exist in the literature, but the solid phases are not well defined. The lowest value for arsenic concentration in equilibrium with solid calcium arsenates, 0.01 mg/L arsenic, was found by Bothe and Brown [9] at pH 12.6 in closed systems. The introduction of air that contains carbon dioxide in the CaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”AsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”H2O system causes significant instability of calcium arsenates for pH > 8.3 [7], and calcium carbonate will be the stable solid phase above this pH value. The change of calcium arsenate to calcium carbonate will release arsenic in the environment. For pH ranging from 4.5 and 8.5, the total arsenate concentrations in aqueous solutions in equilibrium with calcium arsenates are around 200 times higher than the maximum contaminant level for total arsenic in potable water and treated sewage effluents and wastes.

The presence of the rare calcium arsenate minerals weilite (CaHAsO4), pharmacolite

(CaHAsO4ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚·2H2O), haidingerite (CaHAsO4ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚·H2O), and phaunouxite [Ca3(AsO4)2ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚·11H2O] must indicate high concentrations of total dissolved arsenate, taking into account that calcium concentrations in the environment are usually controlled by equilibria with other less-soluble, calcium-containing solid phases.

http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/pdf/7410×1843.pdf

8 Responses to “What you should know about arsenic in Drinking water- the truth”

  1. AnuD Says:

    Recently, I heard about some excess heavy metal (probably Murcury) in some Canadian community (air, plants, water, animals and fish etc.) and the suspected source was reaching of polluted air from chinese manufacturinvg plants.

  2. Fran Diaz Says:

    Our thanks to Mr Samarasinghe for this article. We can see that the Environmental Authorities in any country has a massive task monitoring effluent from industries, as well as use of chemicals in food production, from farm to table. Managing large populations with healthy food is the greatest challenge. People should put their efforts to solving these problems instead of quibbling over petty issues like ethnicity & religion. The importance of teaching Science and use of Science for practical purposes is very important, especially in Sri Lanka. Our very survival depends upon it.

    Reverse Osmosis can water filtration can remove As and other heavy metals from water. In poorer countries it is best that heavy metals are not allowed into the soil & water.

  3. Fran Diaz Says:

    Chlorella & Spirulina are algae that can help remove heavy metals from the body. These types of algae can be dried, powdered and used in tablet or capsule form. Algae, as we know, can be grown easily under hygienic conditions in the tropics.

  4. Ben_silva Says:

    A good article. I wish to thank Lankaweb for highlighting the issue Dr Cooray and Prof. Bandara have carried out water analysis and found high levels of heavy metals and toxins in water. Further info in Death and misery in NCP http://www.island.lk/2008/09/17/features4.html and http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2009/08/18/clean-water-free-from-toxins-a-basic-human-right-for-inhabitants-public-awareness-message-from-patriotic-sri-lankans/
    Can active carbon or rise husk ash filter out toxins ? A cheap filter is needed immediately, until a better solution is found. Perhaps our Universities and the army can help ? Good idea from Fran Diaz. Can he give more details so that people can make use of his ideas. What is now needed is practical means of removing toxins from drinking water.

  5. Ben_silva Says:

    A good article. I wish to thank Lankaweb for highlighting the issue Dr Cooray and Prof. Bandara have carried out water analysis and found high levels of heavy metals and toxins in water. Further info in Death and misery in NCP http://www.island.lk/2008/09/17/features4.html and http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2009/08/18/clean-water-free-from-toxins-a-basic-human-right-for-inhabitants-public-awareness-message-from-patriotic-sri-lankans/
    Can active carbon or rise husk ash filter out toxins ? A cheap filter is needed immediately, until a better solution is found. Perhaps our Universities and the army can help ? Good ideas from Fran Diaz. Can he give more details so that people can make use of his ideas. Practical means are needed to remove toxins from water.

  6. Fran Diaz Says:

    Dear Mr Ben Silva,

    Thank you for your encouraging remarks. Herewith some websites of further information on the topics mentioned. I am including some further topics of interest.

    1) Reverse Osmosis : See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis
    To purchase a home RO filtration system for home use, it may cost between US$100-200. Some of the States in USA have RO systems for entire areas for public use. For Sri Lanka the RO system may prove too expensive for individual homes, unless the various areas affected have RO water systems for mass use. Simple filters made from charcoal, sand etc. do not remove heavy metals, but they can remove large particles of impurities as well unpleasant odors, etc.

    (2) Chlorella & Spirulina to remove heavy metals : See http://thehomeremediesreview.com/2011/07/superfoods-chlorella-and-spirulina/
    China already exports tons of Chlorella to the west where it is used as a food supplement.

    (3) All you need to know about algae including how to grow : See http://www.spirulinasource.com/earthfoodch6b.html

    (4) Chelation Therapy to unblock arteries: See http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/PharmacologicalandBiologicalTreatment/chelation-therapy

    Chelation Therapy can be done with EDTA or DMSA. Please note that both methods must be used under doctor supervision. The chelating agent tends to bind with the offending elements as well as beneficial elements needed by the body, and therefore SUPPLEMENTS OF MINERALS must be taken in large doses under doctor supervision to compensate.

    (5) Mercury poisoning in the body (through tooth fillings etc) can be detected by hair analysis. Chelation can be used to eliminate Mercury.

    (6) Bad fats such as margarine (a Trans fat) should be avoided in food for heart health. Food labels should declare the amount of Fats & the types of Fats, Trans fats (or No Trans fats) The body is incapable of dealing with fats & oils that are Unnatural and as such these fats tend to clog arteries. Cold pressed Oils (Sekkuwa produced type) are best. By their very nature, Veins are free of clogging unlike arteries.

    Over to our Researchers in every University in Sri Lanka and our doctors to further these possibilities. The GoSL should give awards (monetary as well as titles) in recognition of exceptional work in these fields. This is another way to encourage positive thinking in the Universities. The Ministry of Health should print simple booklets on these subjects to increase public awareness about health and make them available through the various libraries. In the long run, dissemination of such information will save the Ministry money in health care costs.

    All the above can generate businesses. We hope however that the poorest of the poor too benefit from the new knowledge emerging from science research and new approaches to food & medicine. A Healthy Nation is a Happy Nation. What fantastic possibilities for the whole region !

  7. Ben_silva Says:

    Fran Diaz, Thank you for the info. The people in NCP, who are affected are very poor and may not be able to afford expensive solutions. Collecting rain water and storing them in clay pots may be useful, also transporting water from local springs, using OX cart may be another solution. Complete design of filters and suitable filter material are on the internetl such as active carbon, rice husk ash, murunga seed etc. It is time GOSL and local and foreign NGO’s got involved. Army Engineers could get involved in the manufacture of filters. Please read my articles on the topic in Lankaweb and Island for more info. Similar problems exist in Panjab as well Google ‘Cancer train ‘ for more info Organised help may be needed as the poor in NCP may not have the means to help themselves.

  8. Fran Diaz Says:

    Mr Ben Silva: I agree with you that clean drinking water must be provided to the NCP as soon as possible. Perhaps this is done already. Perhaps someone who knows can tell us ?
    An engineer known to me suggested that pipes should be laid asp from safe water areas to the NCP so that clean water is assured for years to come. This is because heavy metals cannot be easily removed from the soil/water system once it gets contaminated and the land must continue to be habitable in spite of contamination.
    I have read on the internet that algae like Chlorella can be grown in homes using small ponds or large clay pots and some salt crystals (for minerals), using natural sunlight and stirring the container to blend in carbon dioxide. The proper know-how has to be supplied through joint work by the Health Ministry/Agricultural Dept & Universities.
    Ben, please let me have the urls for your articles. Thank you.

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