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Picture: This picture shows the consentration of Arsenic in the United States. (I have included the link to the picture because the words are hard to see.)
Summary: Arsenic is an element on the periodic table that is oderless and colorless. It is harmful to humans and animals if ingested. It comes from natural deposits in the earth or from agriculture and industries. Arsenic has many non-cancer effects such as, thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in hands and feet, partial paralysis, and blindness. It also is known to cause cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has set a standard of .010 parts per million (ppm) (10 parts per billion; ppb) for drinking water. Many villages in Africa had water that contained high volumes of Arsenic and many were dying and no body knew why. Eventually scientist found the Arsenic in the water and had to find a way to get it out so people would stop dying of the symptoms listed above. In 2009 IRIN ( ) tested water from 360 wells and they were all contaminated with arsenic.
Opinion: I think that the amount of aresenic in the water in Africa is very alarming and unsettling. To think that all of those children are drinking water that they have no idea is actually killing them. Its so sad to think about. This article is directly related to the discussion we had in class. We also learned that ilters were sent out by an organization called Filters for Familes to filter out most of the arsenic so that fewer people would die of arsenic poisoning.
Questions:
1. Is there any other place in the world that has a worse Arsenic concentration level than Africa?
2. Was there ever a time in history that the U.S. had high levels of Arsenic?
3. What would you do if you found out htere was a high level of Arsenic in the water around your town?
First of all, I think that it is INSANE that all 360 wells that were tested, had arsenic in them. That is extremely dangerous for all of the reasons that Sarah already listed above.
ReplyDeleteTo answer question #3, if I found out that we had arsenic in our water, I would probably either move or find some way to filter my water or buy a ton of water bottles even though those aren't the best either. I just would not want any of the side effects that are listed and if I can find another place to live where the water is better and safer, I might move there if I convince my family! But, luckily that is probably not going to happen so I do not need to make any rash decisions.
My question is, how much arsenic needs to be consumed for a side effect tot take place?
Wow! I can't believe that out of 360 wells that were tested all of them were contaminated. I also agree with Tal about how if it was my situation I would try to make my family move immediately because the human health is a very fragile thing and I would not take risks with it.actually I think this article ties into my life right now because while doing my R.A.F.T assignment i have been doing further research on the topic of contaminated water and one of the really alarming things I found out is that 57 million people are drinking water that is contaminated with arsenic.
ReplyDeleteTo answer previous questions:
1. Do you think any other countries have worse arsenic concentration levels?
After doing further research I have been able to conclude that India has very bad arsenic contamination problems but i can't figure out if it is worse, but it is definitely a close second if not worst.
2. Was there ever a time in history that the U.S. had high levels of Arsenic?
It seems like there has not been a problem where the arsenic levels have past the EPA standards, my research shows that yes there had been arsenic in the United states water but not enough to cause any problems.
3. What would you do if you found out htere was a high level of Arsenic in the water around your town?
Like I mentioned in my reaction, I would definitely try to get away maybe take tal's approach and go with the water filter or even bottled water, even knowing that bottled os not the best first choice.
I think that high amounts of arsenic in water that whole families are drinking is a very scary thing to think about. I can't even imagine what it would be like to know that I could die just from drinking water or even worse not know what was in the water I was about to drink. Like we learned in class it takes a lot of work to filter out water and it must take really long to filter out a clear, orderless substance from water which is also clear and odorless.
ReplyDeleteTo answer question number 1 I googled it and read some articles and also found the same results that Simal did, which are that India has high arsenic levels.
To answer question number 3 I would probably go back to buying bottle water but I would make sure that it came from a processing plant that was out of state so that I could be sure that it had no arsenic in it.
Just an FYI the anonymous post is me Bri
ReplyDeleteIts actually really said that there is such high contamination in a place that has very high technologies to help filter and solve the problem. I think if we have these advancements, this should no longer be happening and we should be more on top of it to keep our drinking water clean and healthy. its alarming that 1005 of the 360 wells tested, came out positive with high levels of arsenic.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the 3rd question, i would say that i would honestly freak out and try to drink something other than water. I get really discusted if someone even drinks my water out of the same bottle/glass let alone it be contaminated and have negative health risks!
question- Where does arsenic come from?
Does arsenic have any positive attributes or effects?
How long did it take the US to realize we have contaminants of arsenic in our water?