As US regulators work toward lowering arsenic levels in drinking water, a new study from Taiwan shows that levels currently considered "acceptable" can increase cancer risk.
Earlier this year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a ruling that called for maximum allowable arsenic levels to be lowered from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb in an effort to cut the health risks associated with the contaminant.
Now researchers report that arsenic levels between 10 ppb and 50 ppb in drinking water increase a person's risk for developing bladder cancer.
The risk of urinary cancer increased as exposure to arsenic increased, the investigators found.
Exposure to arsenic levels between 10.1 ppb to 50 ppb in drinking water nearly doubled cancer risk compared to the risk in the general population.
Risk was roughly 8 times higher when levels were between 50 ppb and 100 ppb and 15 times higher for people exposed to arsenic levels exceeding 100 ppb. Read more...
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