Arsenic exposure through drinking water in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia has been monitored by European researchers.

Arsenic exposure through drinking water in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia has been monitored by European researchers.

The release of arsenic, a potent human carcinogen, from bedrock into groundwater is a growing public health concern because groundwater is increasingly used as a source of drinking water. It is known that large numbers of people have been exposed to arsenic through water consumption but information about arsenic levels in groundwater in Europe is scarce.   

Marie Vahter at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Stockholm, and her team measured levels of arsenic metabolites in urine and arsenic concentrations in water to assess exposure levels. They also considered exposure to arsenic from tobacco smoke and foods like rice, potatoes and poultry.

They found a wide variation in exposure even in areas already known to have raised levels of arsenic in drinking water. Some areas, particularly eastern Hungary, were shown to have drinking water levels that exceeded the European Union drinking water standard. Other areas, with low levels in the drinking water, showed low exposure to arsenic through food and cigarette smoke. 

Vahter found a wide variation in the pattern of arsenic metabolites in urine among individuals. The researchers hope to explain their findings by looking at the nature of arsenic metabolism. They also plan to compare their results with studies carried out on populations which have had different nutrition and higher exposures to arsenic.

Katherine Davies