Arsenic study shows Spring Lake residents are safe
SPRING HILL – The results of a year-long study to determine potential health hazards from high levels of arsenic in some homeowners’ wells has turned up no ill effects on residents exposed to the chemical in their drinking water.
Hernando County launched this first-ever arsenic study in January and, through a media educational campaign, secured the participation of about 360 people, most of whom lived in the southeastern part of the county where the level of arsenic in wells there was measured at between 10 and 15 parts per billion.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave out free water filters to a control group in the area. The filters were installed under the kitchen sink to monitor the arsenic levels of family members. The survey measured respondents drinking, cooking and bathing behaviors. To complete the study and measure individual, short-term arsenic exposure, everyone in the household was given a voluntary urine test.
The field testing wrapped up in August but the results were put through multiple reviews which concluded last week.
“The bottom line, we found there was no significant difference between people drinking water with arsenic filters on and the people in the control household that we had previously tested,” said Health Department Environmental Manager Al Gray. “So that means neither group is at an increased risk for arsenic exposure, which is a good thing.”
The Hernando County Health Department had mailed letters to 583 households identified as being at higher risk of arsenic poisoning from well water. The overall response rate was 29.5 percent.
Most residents affected live in the Spring Lake area because of prominent use of pesticides in the past from citrus groves and cattle grazing. That area may be more prone to arsenic because of the large limestone and clay deposits under the surface.
The state chose Hernando County for the study because it has a large number of wells with arsenic levels above the maximum contaminate level of 10 micrograms per liter in the water.
To get an accurate measure, half of the letters went to households in the affected area where wells did not test high for arsenic. The other half, or the targeted ‘control’ area, also got letters. Homeowners were asked to voluntarily fill out a questionnaire and, if possible, arrange to have a health official come to their home to test their water, filter system and possibly take a urine sample to determine the amount of arsenic in their blood.
The report shows that filters are working.
“The filters are preventing people from getting arsenic in their bodies even though they have arsenic levels in their water that are above the level of concern” Gray said
Short-term exposure to arsenic is not considered harmful, Gray said. However, prolonged exposure, especially over 30 years, can pose a health problem.
Arsenic in drinking water has no taste or odor and cannot be detected without lab testing. Long-term ingestion of elevated levels of arsenic can increase the risk of skin cancer and cancer of the lungs, bladder, kidney, liver and prostate.
The money for the survey was from a $60,000 grant from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ellis said this is the first study of its kind in Florida and is honored that Hernando County kicked it off. Health officials will use the results to examine the current thresholds for arsenic levels in wells statewide and to guide safe water restoration efforts.
Ann-Gayl Ellis, public information officer for the Hernando County Health Department, was also pleased with the results of the test and credits an informational blitz in the days leading up to the campaign for getting widespread cooperation from residents.
“I think that’s why we had such a great response rate,” Ellis said. “This had the potential of being something people were a little anxious about.”
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