High arsenic levels plague several public water systems

Many of the tainted systems are small and serve rural areas.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- More than 90,000 Ohioans regularly drink from public water systems that have exceeded a new arsenic standard taking effect in 19 months, according to an analysis of four years of tests of 2,000 water systems by The Columbus Dispatch.
Many of the tainted systems are small and serve rural areas. One in four is a school system.
Warren County in southwestern Ohio has the most residents drinking arsenic-tainted water (16,800), followed by Licking County (15,812) and Franklin County (7,547).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted the stricter limit in 2001, cutting it by 80 percent. Water suppliers have five years to comply.
The old limit of 50 parts per billion dates to 1942. That's the equivalent of less than 6 tablespoons in a million gallons of water.
The new limit of 10 parts per billion was set after a National Research Council panel of scientists estimated that regularly consuming water with arsenic at 50 ppb can cause up to one additional cancer case for every 100 people.
The 2 million Ohioans who drink from private wells will not be protected by the new standards.
In addition to cancer, studies linked arsenic to hypertension and diabetes.
Arsenic, a toxic metal in rat poison and insecticides, can occur naturally when water seeps into underground aquifers through certain soils and rocks.
Arsenic levels
Most public drinking water in Ohio has little or no arsenic, either because of filtering systems or geology. But in some communities, arsenic levels consistently exceed the new standard and sometimes surpass the old one.
Twenty years ago, officials discovered high levels of arsenic in the water at Licking Valley's middle and high schools east of Newark.
Since then, the schools spent thousands on tests and filtering systems. But for years they didn't warn people who drank the water about the long-term health risks.
Water at the new Licking Valley High School, which opened for the 2000 school year, is clean. At the nearby middle school, arsenic now meets the current federal standard but remains more than twice as high as the tougher limit that takes effect in January 2006.
"Do we advertise it's here?" Rick Nabors, Licking Valley Middle School principal, said of the arsenic. "No. We've never been to the point where we've felt the conditions were unsafe for teachers, staff or anybody else."
Melissa Collins, who has four daughters in the middle and high schools, thinks that's unacceptable.
"I just thought they'd be a little more forthcoming when you're talking about a health issue, or a possible health issue," she said.
Deciding whether and how to tell customers about high arsenic levels is largely left to the water supplier. Public water supplies must be tested and reported to the state every three years. If arsenic levels exceed 50 ppb, the supplier must begin quarterly testing.
Officials at Vaughn Elementary in Trumbull County switched to bottled water and sent letters home to parents in January 2002 after recording some of the highest arsenic levels in Ohio.
School officials also issued a news release to warn the community and encourage people to think about testing their wells at home. The school has tapped into another well while waiting to move into a new school next year.
"Obviously, we're in the business here of keeping kids safe," Principal Alex Geordan said.