Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116580

Robin Streeter, MS, MPH¹, Beth A. Resnick, MPH¹, Frank C. Curriero, PhD², Joanna Zablotsky, MPH¹, Keeve Nachman, MHS¹, and Thomas A. Burke, PhD, MPH¹. (1) Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Room 484, Baltimore, MD 21205, 4432870848, rstreete@jhsph.edu, (2) Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205

It is well established that arsenic is a human carcinogen and that high arsenic levels in drinking water are strongly associated with increased bladder and lung cancer mortality. Recognizing that arsenic may also be a potent carcinogen at low levels, the Environmental Protection Agency reduced arsenic′s maximum contaminant level (MCL) from 50 micrograms per liter (μg/l) to 10 μg/l. Under Maryland law, private wells must meet federal MCLs in order to receive potability certification from county health departments. The revised arsenic MCL has triggered sampling and treatment challenges for health departments and well owners in eastern Maryland where arsenic levels may reach 70 μg/l in groundwater used for residential supply. This presentation describes a collaboration between county health departments and Johns Hopkins University to address this issue by mapping arsenic concentrations in groundwater in each water-bearing unit (aquifer) underlying eastern Maryland. The work involves a rigorous sampling program coupled with spatial statistical analysis to predict arsenic levels at unsampled locations. The resulting exposure maps will guide county health departments and well owners in locating new wells in aquifers with lower arsenic concentrations. This work also supports an epidemiologic study to assess potential associations between arsenic in drinking water and mortality from bladder and lung cancers in eastern Maryland. Through better estimates of exposure than have been used in previous studies involving arsenic in drinking water, this research augments our understanding of the health effects associated with low levels of arsenic and provides an improved foundation for drinking water policy.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the benefits of community/academic collaboration
• Identify the types of data needed to support community level drinking water studies
• Discuss how spatial statistical analysis can guide community planning decisions regarding drinking water supply

Keywords: Community Planning, Drinking Water Quality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.