Arsenic in Drinking Water: Risks, Health Effects & Safe Levels

Arsenic is a toxic metal that is able to dissolve in water. Prolonged exposure to arsenic on the order of 5 to 20 years, particularly by drinking contaminated water, can lead to arsenicosis (arsenic poisoning). World Health Organization guidelines specify that drinking water should contain no more than 0.01 mg/l of arsenic. In the most notorious case of arsenic poisoning, in Bangladesh, many wells were found to have levels five times greater than this or even more.

Effects on skin

• Hyperpigmentation, or dark patches of skin caused by increased melanin, and keratosis (lesions of keratin growing on the skin), are characteristic effects of arsenicosis and are often used for confirming diagnoses.

Cancers

• Various cancers have been found to be associated with arsenicosis, including cancers of the skin, bladder and lungs. The internal cancers can prove fatal, and are the most frequent causes of death from arsenicosis.

Other conditions

• Arsenicosis has also been known to cause diabetes; blood pressure problems, including poor circulation, particularly in the legs and feet; and reproductive disorders.