ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
environmental contamination, such as
processing samples for analysis in a
clean biosafety cabinet and using ultra-
pure reagents approved for trace metal
work. After analysis, urine arsenic and
uranium results were compared with
well water concentrations in order to
evaluate the degree of correlation. It was
not uncommon to detect elevated urinary
concentrations of arsenic and uranium
when well water concentrations were also
high.
Assessing exposure to arsenic was
complicated by the fact that arsenic can
exist in several different molecular forms,
or species, with widely varying toxicities.
Understanding the type of arsenic present
in participants’ urine was therefore
integral to evaluating their exposure. If a
participant’s initial urine testing indicated
that a large amount of arsenic was
present, their urine was further analyzed
to determine the concentrations of six
arsenic species, some of which are not
found in groundwater. Almost one third
of all participants received this additional
testing, which helped determine whether
an individual was exposed to arsenic
through drinking their well water
(especially when well water arsenic
concentrations were high) or through
other exposure routes such as diet.
Next Steps
The information generated by the
Targeted Arsenic and Uranium Study
provided useful insight into relationships
between arsenic and uranium exposure
and private well use for drinking water,
as well as occupation, diet and other
environmental factors. In addition to
receiving their urine and water test
results by mail, participants will have
the opportunity to attend community
information meetings hosted in
several locations across the state by
Biomonitoring NH Toxicologist Kim Aviado prepares for arsenic
speciation testing. Photo: NH Department of Health
biomonitoring staff. Study data will
be shared with the New Hampshire
Environmental Public Health Tracking
program where it will contribute to a
broader effort to improve understanding
of how environmental contaminants
affect people’s health. n
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aga ine.
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Winter 2019 LAB MATTERS
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