Cedar City • What’s in your water? Scientists at the Desert Research Institute took water samples from wells in Nevada, testing for arsenic exceeding safe levels. Using this data, they estimated the risk to private well users throughout the Great Basin, including those living in Iron and Beaver counties.
Due to the Great Basin’s aridness, surface water is “sparse,” according to the institute’s website. This means many residents rely on private wells, which are unregulated. Additionally, over 49,000 of these wells may be at risk of “unhealthy levels of arsenic” across the region.
While the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines allow for up to 10 micrograms of arsenic per liter in public drinking water, research has indicated that long-term exposures of over 5 micrograms per liter may impact a person’s health, according to the institute.
Some symptoms of long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic in drinking water include pigmentation changes to a person’s skin, hyperkeratosis, or hard patches on the soles of the feet or palms, and skin lesions, according to the World Health Organization. Typically these symptoms occur after approximately five years of minimum exposure and can be a precursor to skin cancer.
Additionally, long-term exposure can cause bladder and lung cancers, and according to WHO, may be associated with diabetes, pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease.
Read more about the study and Utah’s drinking water quality at St. George News.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.
