Arsenic is an element that is extremely toxic to human health. Despite this, or maybe because of it, humans have used arsenic in many capacities- as an insecticide, as a toxic agent of war, and even as a wood preservation. However, its use in countless industrial applications has contributed to pollution at all levels. Additionally, arsenic exists naturally in the environment. The combination of these factors means that the most common method of exposure occurs by drinking contaminated water.
Arsenic in Water
Pollution has made groundwater contamination of arsenic a worldwide problem that affects people, crops, and livestock. [1] In 2012, the University of Washington School of Law published information that brought light to the fact that many water systems in the United States are affected by unacceptably high arsenic levels and money is not available to address the problem. Poor communities were identified to be the highest at risk. [2]
Arsenic in Food
Arsenic laced water becomes a compound problem when crops and livestock are given that water. “You are what you eat” or, “you are what you consume” applies to animals and plants just as much as it does humans. When the University of Washington analyzed over 30 types of apple juice, they found arsenic in all samples and over 30% contained arsenic levels at or above drinking water exposure limits. [3] Read more
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