Study: Some Cancer Cases Could be Avoided Through Water Treatment

Some 20 percent of private NH wells have elevated arsenic levels

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/new_hampshire/article_301a350f-8639-5861-afbe-a06ff37e4b67.html

Posted: Friday, October 10, 2014 12:15 am

By Jo-Anne MacKenzie jmackenzie@eagletribune.com Eagle-Tribune

CONCORD — Hundreds of cases of cancer could be avoided if more New Hampshire residents tested — and treated — their private wells, according to a new study.

Some 46 percent of N.H. households get their drinking water from a private well, according to Paul Susca, a supervisor in the Department of Environmental Services drinking water division. Ninety percent of those wells are bedrock wells, which is where the arsenic is found.

Maine and New Hampshire rank highest nationally in the percentage of residents who use private wells, he said.

About one in five — some 20 percent — of private wells in New Hampshire have elevated levels of arsenic, according to NHDES Commissioner Thomas Burack.

Arsenic is considered a Class 1 carcinogen. It's long been known that there's a high incident of arsenic in many private wells, particularly in Rockingham, Merrimack, Strafford and Hillsborough counties. As many as 41,000 people in those four counties alone may be drinking water with arsenic levels higher than the EPA standard, the study says.

But there's a problem just as significant as the arsenic levels — getting residents to have their well water tested and then doing something about it if arsenic or other contaminants are found. Although radon is even more commonly occurring, Susca said, this study only looked at arsenic.

Dartmouth College did the report for NHDES and the state Department of Health and Human Services. The reporters held focus group meetings with residents of four towns, including Londonderry, each with a high number of private wells, all in areas with relatively high arsenic levels and all with a high percentage of children.

The experts found many residents associated contaminants in water with taste, smell or appearance, none of which hold true for arsenic, radon and many other contaminants.

There appeared to be a significant lack of knowledge among residents about water testing standards, according to the report. Those who did have their water tested often stopped there, the study showed, either because the results were tough to interpret or because they thought the cost of treatment would be prohibitive.

But, Susca said, cost ought not to be a factor.

"In most cases, people can use a point-of-use, under-the-sink kind of system to treat arsenic at levels that commonly occur," he said. "It's not a hazard for skin exposure, it's the consumption, including cooking, so you only need to treat water you're consuming."

He said a typical under-the-sink system costs "hundred of dollars."

Officials don't have a firm grasp on the percentage of residents who use well water who have their water tested, Susca said, although a survey to get that number is underway.

Those conducting the study surveyed — or tried to — thousands of households with private wells. But the response rate was just about 3 percent.

Of those who did respond, 82 percent always or frequently drink tap water, according to the report.

The risk of consuming untreated well water with high levels or arsenic is significant. The study estimates of 688 cases of cancer among residents with arsenic-contaminated well water, 451 cases could be avoided if the water were treated for elevated arsenic levels.

Chronic arsenic exposure potentially leads to bladder and lung cancer. The state's rate of bladder cancer is the highest in the country at 29.7 cases per 100,000, according to the National Cancer Institute. 

That statistic can't be entirely attributed to arsenic in well water, the study reports, but it's noteworthy that Maine ranks second for bladder cancer incidence and also has high levels of arsenic in its groundwater.

The study authors recommend improved communication about the importance of well water testing, testing events and campaigns in targeted towns as a next step.

"We want to emphasize that people should test their wells and do something about it if (arsenic) is at an elevated level," Susca said.

The NHDES is working to develop an online tool that would allow residents to plug in their test results and get recommendations for treatment. That's expected to roll out in the first half of 2015. 

In the meantime, he said, people should have their water tested and if it needs treatment, consult several water treatment vendors. 

There's a lot of information available at http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/dwgb/.

There's a lot of information available at http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/dwgb/.

Homeowners Are Encouraged to Test Their Well Water

Londonderry Times  March 27th, 2014  Jay Hobson

http://nutpub.net/londonderry_times_newspaper/homeowners-are-encouraged-to-test-their-well-water/

The state is interested in learning whether well water users understand it is their responsibility to test their water, and how to encourage them to do so.

Michael Paul, Community Engagement coordinator with the Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program and the Audrey and Theodore Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, held a focus group in Londonderry last week to discuss what people who get their water from private wells should know. He said it is the homeowner’s responsibility to test their water to ensure it is safe, and to treat it if it contains unsafe levels of contaminants, including arsenic, which is prevalent in southern New Hampshire.

According to a U.S. Geological Survey model, Londonderry is a town with high arsenic levels in its well water, Paul said.

The meeting in Londonderry focused on what questions to ask well users in a survey that will be mailed to about 4,000 New Hampshire residents.

Paul said Londonderry was chosen as one of the four focus group locations because it has one of the highest amount of well water users in the state.

“Londonderry was chosen because it has a relatively high number of private wells, is a town with high arsenic levels according to a U.S. Geological Survey model and it has a relatively high percentage of children relative to other New Hampshire towns,” Paul said.

Paul said the ultimate goal of the project is to improve public health.

“There were a couple of people that mentioned previous studies that were done that showed that there is a higher than average arsenic content in Londonderry,” said Town Manager Kevin Smith, who attended the focus group. “That being said, levels aren’t so high as to be an immediate threat to public health.”

Resident Mike Speltz explained the Dartmouth staff  “have been tasked to find a reliable way to assess New Hampshire’s residents, their understanding of well water and how to maintain it as far as having it tested, knowing how frequently to test it and what it should be tested for, generally trying to assess their knowledge of how to take care of a well. They are trying to develop a survey and they want to make sure they are asking the right questions.

“There were a few good things that came out of it,” he said of the meeting. “The building department will probably be making a little more information on wells available.

“Knowing that Londonderry has more wells per capita than anywhere else in the state, it makes it more important that we redouble our efforts in protecting our landscape,” Speltz said. “We have hot spots of arsenic in Londonderry, but so do other towns. It is a common contaminant in Southern New Hampshire.”

Paul said the focus group is a way “to test the concepts and assumptions forming the basis of our survey questions. Are there demographic factors that might be expected to correspond with treatment and testing rates? Are we capturing the most important thoughts, ideas, and experiences residents have related to arsenic awareness, testing, and treatment? Are our survey questions clear and the possible answer choices appropriate? What steps can we take to ensure that people respond to our survey? We see the focus groups as a key step in developing a successful survey.

 “The results will be used to increase public awareness about arsenic and other potential drinking water contaminants and their potential health effects, promote water testing, revise current public health messages about water testing and treatment, encourage appropriate protective responses for households that receive unhealthy water test results, and educate local health officials and health care providers in high-risk areas about their messages to citizens and patients,” Paul explained.

Paul said a contract exists with the State Department of Environmental Services (DES) to conduct a survey of New Hampshire residents who obtain water from a well.

“With the survey data we will estimate statewide rates of well water testing and treatment for arsenic; assess the importance of a variety of factors influencing the rate of water testing and treatment; evaluate the effectiveness of the DES flier in encouraging water testing; identify subpopulations that are less likely to test and treat their water; determine the types and maintenance of water treatment systems being used; estimate statewide exposure to well water arsenic and associated health risks and design and test intervention strategies to overcome identified barriers to testing and treatment.

“The important thing to get across is that people who have wells are responsible for testing their water,” Paul said. “Some people test when they buy the house and it’s never tested again until they sell, but it is very important for people to test frequently so they know what is in the water they are drinking and using.”

According to a DES fact sheet on arsenic in well water, wells drilled into New Hampshire’s bedrock fractures have about a one in five probability of containing naturally occurring arsenic above 10 parts per billion. Arsenic in water has no color or odor, even at elevated levels; the only way to determine the arsenic level in well water is by testing.

Detailed information about arsenic in well water, including how to obtain well testing kits for arsenic, is available on the DES website at http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/dwgb/capacity/arsenic.htm.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate private wells or require states to do so.