Potential Health Hazards in Arsenic-Removing Water Treatment Systems
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, systems designed to treat arsenic in private well water may be malfunctioning and endangering the health of people who count on them to keep their water safe, according to recent research by Rutgers University.
Megan Rockafellow-Baldoni, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health and justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health, along with co-authors including Rutgers alum Steven Spayd, a retired research scientist formerly with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, conducted a study testing the water of 62 New Jersey homes equipped with whole-house arsenic-removing water treatment systems. Their findings were published in the journal Water Environment Research.
Findings and Concerns
Steven Spayd highlighted a critical issue, stating, “These water treatment systems may be solving one exposure problem by removing dissolved arsenic from the water but potentially creating a new exposure — the ingestion of arsenic treatment media with high concentrations of arsenic.”
Arsenic, while naturally occurring, is a known human carcinogen and poses significant health risks. Due to these dangers, New Jersey mandates arsenic testing for private wells when homes are sold. If arsenic levels exceed safe drinking standards, an arsenic treatment system is typically installed. These systems use a specialized adsorptive filter to trap arsenic, ideally leaving only potable water to flow into the home.
However, Rockafellow-Baldoni and her team discovered that in 71 percent of the homes tested, microparticles of arsenic treatment media were present in the drinking water. These particles, which should remain within the treatment tank, likely contain high concentrations of adsorbed arsenic, posing a significant health risk.
Broader Implications for Water Safety
The issue may extend beyond arsenic. The researchers also detected microparticles of water softener resin in 84 percent of homes with water softeners. This suggests that other hazardous substances, such as radium, another naturally occurring yet dangerous contaminant, might also be escaping into drinking water.
Recommended Actions
The researchers call for further investigation to determine the malfunction’s cause and assess the concentrations of arsenic and radium in the escaping media. In the meantime, they recommend well owners install a 5-micron post-treatment sediment filter to capture any escaping media.
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