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Arsenic and Your Private Well

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Arsenic and Your Private Well LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT Public Information Series OF HEALTH & HOSPITALS howmuchwateryouconsume;and supplyeveryday.Point-of-entryequipment,commonly referredtoasawhole-housesystem,treatsallthewater howmanyyearsyoudrinkthewater. usedinthehouse.Point-of-usesystemstreatwaterata Exposuresthatcancauseserioushealthproblems singletap,suchasakitchensinkfaucet. forsomepeoplemayhavenoeffectonothers. Also,twopeoplewithsimilarexposuresmay Thequalityofyourwaterwillaffecthowwellthe developtotallydifferentsymptoms.However,more treatmentsystemworksandhowmuchmaintenanceit Arsenic exposuretoarsenicincreasesthelikelihoodthat willrequire. healthproblemswilloccur.Reducingexposure DHHrecommendsinstallingequipmentthathasbeen reducestherisk. certifiedbyNSFInternational,anot-for-profitpublic and Your EPAgivesthewarningthat:“Somepeoplewho healthandsafetycompanythattestshomewater drinkwatercontainingarsenicinexcessofthe treatmentsystems. Private Well MaximumContaminantLevel(MCL)overmany Call1-800-NSF-MARKorgototheirwebsite, yearscouldexperienceskindamageorproblems www.nsf.org.Afterinstallationandroutinemaintenance, withtheircirculatorysystem,andmayhavean yourwatershouldbetestedtoensurethatthesystemis increasedriskofgettingcancer.” removingarsenic. How can I reduce my exposure Connect to a Public Water Supply or to arsenic from my well? Community Well Thereareseveralwaystoreduceyour Itmaybepossibletoconnecttoapublicwatersupplyor exposuretoarsenicinyourwellwater.Each communitywellifoneisnearby.Thesewatersystems alternativehasadvantagesanddisadvantages mustbemaintainedregularlyandmeetfederalandstate toconsider.Ifyouhavearsenicinyourwater publichealthstandards.Contactyourlocalwaterutilityto above500ppb,youshouldtalktoDHHbefore askaboutthepossibilityofconnectingtoapublicsupply. choosinganoption. For more information, please contact the Use Bottled Water Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health Drinkingandcookingwithbottledwatercan Center for Environmental Health Services reduceyourexposureimmediatelywhileyou 225-342-7499. consideryouroptions.However,itcanbe inconvenientandcostlyinthelongrun.You Section of Environmental Epidemiology shouldalsocontactthebottledwatersupplierto and Toxicology askaboutthelevelsofanyimpurities,including 1-888-293-7020 (toll free) or 504-219-4586 arsenic,thatitswatermaycontain. There are even more ways to get up-to-date health Treat the Well Water information, news and emergency updates from DHH. www.myhealthla.org Manywaterfiltersonthemarketcanimprove thetasteandremoveodorsfromdrinkingwater www.twitter.com/La_Health_Dept butdonotremovearsenic.Somehomewater www.facebook.com/LaHealthDept treatmentsystemsthatusereverseosmosis, distillationorspecialfiltrationmaterialcanreduce This public document was published in-house for a total cost of $76.00. One hundred copies of this public document were published in this first printing. This document was produced by theamountofarsenicinthewater.Thesesystems the Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health. It was printed in accordance varyincostandtheamountofwatertheycan with standards for printing by State Agencies established pursuant to R.S. 43:31. For more information call 225-342-7499 Arsenic and Your Should I get my well tested symptoms,andatevenhigherlevels,serious illness,orinextremecases,death.Milder Private Well for arsenic? effectsmayincludeswellingoftheface,nausea, Arsenicisfoundinwellwater DHHencouragesyoutotestyourprivatewellto vomiting,stomachpain,ordiarrhea.Serious throughoutLouisiana,sometimes evaluatethesafetyofyourdrinkingwatersupply. effectsmayincludecoma,internalbleeding, atlevelsthatareabovetheEPA Arseniclevelsarehigherthan10ppbinmanywellsin ornervedamagecausingweaknessorlossof standardsof10partsperbillion Louisiana.Theonlywaytoknowhowmucharsenicis sensationinthehands,arms,feetorlegs.These (ppb).Testingawatersampleistheonlywayto inyourwateristotestit. veryhighlevelsarenotusuallyfoundinprivate knowifarsenicispresent. Becausetheamountofarsenicinwellwatercanvary drinkingwaterwellsinLouisiana. TheLouisianaDepartmentofHealthandHospitals throughouttheyear,youshouldtestforitinthelate Long-termexposuretosmalleramountsof (DHH)recommendsthatwaterusedfordrinkingor summerandintheearlyspringtoseeifthereare arsenicismorecommonandcanincreasethe foodpreparationcontainnomorethan10ppbarsenic. seasonaldifferences. riskofdevelopingcancerofthebladder,lung, Laboratoriesusuallycharge$20to$35forthetest. skin,liver,kidneyorprostateifconsumedover How are people exposed to arsenic? alifetime.Otherhealtheffectsmayinclude Everyonehassomedailyexposuretoarsenic Youcanfindalistoflabsonlineat:www.lab.dhh. louisiana.gov highbloodpressure,narrowingoftheblood becauseitisanaturallyoccurringelementfoundin vessels,nervedamage,anemia,diabetes, water,soil,indoorhousedust,airandfood. What do my test results mean? stomachupset,andskinchanges. Arsenicinyourwatersupplycangetintoyour Tolowerpeople’sriskofhealthproblems,thefederal Consultyourmedicalproviderifyouthinkyou bodywhenyoudrinkthewateroruseittocookor SafeDrinkingWaterActrequirespublicdrinkingwater haveanyhealthproblemsthatmayhavebeen preparefoodandbeverages. systemswithmorethan14serviceconnectionstohave causedbyexposuretoarsenic. Arsenicisnotabsorbedverywellthroughtheskin. arseniclevels10ppborless.Thereisnostatewide Exposurefromskincontactalone,suchasbathing standardforarsenicinprivatewells. Should I be concerned? orwashingdishesinarsenic-contaminatedwater,is Ifyourwaterhasmorethan10ppbarsenic,youwill Mosthealthproblemsassociatedwithlong- unlikelytocausehealthproblems. havetobalancethehealthrisks,cost,andconvenience termarsenicexposurearethesameascommon Arsenicgetsintowellwaterthroughnaturalerosion. whendecidingwhethertocontinueusingyourwater illnessesthataffectmanypeople.Itisoften Asgroundwaterflowsthroughrocksandsoilthat supplyfordrinkingorfoodpreparation. notpossibletodifferentiatesymptomsrelated containarsenic,someofthearsenicdissolvesinto solelytoarsenicfromthoseforcommon Ifyourwatercontainsmorethan50ppbarsenic,DHH thewater.DrinkingwaterinLouisianatypically illnesses.Evenwithrelativelyhighlevelsof recommendsthatyoustopusingitimmediatelyfor containslessthan3partsofarsenicperbillion arsenicinthewater,thesehealthproblems drinkingandfoodpreparation.Sincearsenicdoesnot partsofwater(oftenabbreviatedas3ppb).For usuallyarenotcausedbyarsenicexposure, easilypassthroughskin,itisOKtoclean,tobathe comparison,3ppbisaboutequaltoaddingone butaremostlyduetootherfactorssuchas andtowashfoodswithwaterunlessitcontainsmore teaspoonofarsenictoanacreofwaterthatis4feet diet,genes,lifestyle,otherchemicals,orpre- than500ppb.Ifthelevelsinyourwateraregreater existingillness. deep.However,levelsof than500ppb,youshouldcallDHHEnvironmental arsenicabovehealthstandards Still,arsenicisknowntoincreasetheriskof HealthServicesat225-342-7499orDHHSectionfor (from10ppbto100ppb) developingtheseillnessesandlikelycontributes EnvironmentalEpidemiologyat1-888-293-7020or havebeenfoundinsome tosomecases.Itisdifficulttopredictwhether 504-219-4586foradvice. wellsinLouisiana.These arsenicindrinkingwaterwillaffectyou,or wellsareusuallyassociated What health problems can be caused whattheeffectswillbe.Theriskthatyouwill withundergroundaquifers getsickdependson: locatedinrockorsoil,which by arsenic? yourindividualsensitivitytoarsenic; haveanaturallyhighcontent Swallowingrelativelylargeamountsofarsenic ofarsenic. (inthepartpermillionrange)cancausemild theamountofarsenicinthewater;.
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