Arsenic In Drinking Water

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Arsenic In Drinking Water

• By Daniel R Greaser

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Arsenic What is it?

• Very poisonous substance
• Can cause death or cancer
• An intermediate element between metals and
  nonmetals
• Ranks 52nd in abundance in the earths crust
• Occurs naturally among other elements in crust
  rock

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Uses

• Used in manufacture of glass
• Added to lead to harden it
• Used extensively in insecticides
• Laser material
• semiconductors

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Arsenic in Ground WaterHow does it get their?

• Rain water dissolves crust rock that contains
  arsenic
• Contaminated water reaches groundwater supplies
• Man made wells bring up contaminated ground water
  for consumption
• Or industrial waste seeps into ground water
  supplies

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Arsenic a Killer

• Amounts of arsenic over 65 mg cause death
• Very small amounts over time can kill or cause
  cancer
• Causes skin, lung, and urinary bladder cancer
• Kills a very large amount of people around the
  world each year
• Only harmful if swallowed

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The Global Problem

• Arsenic kills more people in developing
  countries
• Ganges river delta most highly populated place
  on earth,
• Has very high levels of arsenic
• Country of Bangladesh worst arsenic affected
  country hundreds of thousands die each year

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Cleaning Arsenic out of Drinking Water

• Arsenic in ground water easy to test for hard to
  remove
• Removing arsenic is expensive
• Requires a variety of filters and disinfectants
• Third world countries cannot afford what it takes
  to clean drinking water

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What we can do in The US

• Right now the EPA standards on arsenic are 50 ppb
  (parts per billion)
• At 50 ppb the risk of getting cancer from arsenic
  is 1 in 100
• All other pollutant standards are based on 1 in
  10,000 risk

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Get Tested

• Arsenic testing is cheap and easy
• Knowledge is your best defense
• Solutions can be found
• good quality bottled water
• Cleaning your water supply

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Conclusion

• Arsenic occurs all over the world
• Easy to test for, hard to remove
• Knowledge is key
• Alternatives can be found