Arsenic In Well Water Linked To Rise In Bladder Cancer Risk
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
New research shows that arsenic in New England drinking water wells is raising the rate of bladder cancer in that region.
Debra Silverman of the National Cancer Institute examined this link in a paper published this month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
“Our findings support an association between low-to-moderate levels of arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer risk in New England. In addition, historical consumption of water from private wells, particularly dug wells in an era when arsenical pesticides were widely used, was associated with increased bladder cancer risk and may have contributed to the New England excess,” the study said.
The backdrop is that bladder cancer appears to occur more frequently in New England compared to other locations in the U.S.
“Bladder cancer mortality rates have been elevated in northern New England for at least five decades. Incidence rates in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are about 20 percent higher than the United States overall. We explored reasons for this excess, focusing on arsenic in drinking water from private wells, which are particularly prevalent in the region,” the study explained.
Silverman urged well users in New England to monitor their water quality.
"It’s an important disease to be concerned about," she said, per Reuters. "If people are drinking from these wells, I think it’s important for people to get their water tested."
"In studies coming from Chile, Taiwan and Argentina where people were drinking water with high levels of arsenic, they had increased levels of bladder cancer mortality," she added.
Previous research has linked arsenic to lower cancer rates. One study suggested arsenic in drinking water might curb the threat of breast cancer.
A paper by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile "linked the chemical element with a 50 percent drop in breast cancer deaths," the Daily Mail reported.
The study was published two years ago in the digital journal eBioMedicine.
For similar stories visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.