Arsenic in Maryland Water Increases Heart Disease Risk

Is Some of Maryland’s Water Unfit for Human Consumption

Arsenic in Maryland’s well water increases risk for heart disease. This statement arises from two simple facts. First, that even low to moderate levels of arsenic cause heart and vascular disease and secondly, that low to moderate levels of arsenic have been detected in two of the main aquifers which provide the well water for large sections of Anne Arundel county as well as parts of the Eastern Shore.

Well Water

In a October 30, 2014 article in the New York Times, titled “A Heart Risk in Drinking Water”, Deborah Blum discusses the findings of Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who is quoted as saying, “On the question of whether arsenic is a cardiovascular risk, I would say yes, and I would put my hand in the fire to that.”

Dr. Navas-Acien further stated, “We’re increasingly understanding the environmental risks for cardiovascular disease,” she said. “Air pollution, lead, cadmium and arsenic are all proven factors. Which leads to a responsibility to do something about that.”

Higher Dose Arsenic Poisoning

It is well established that high levels of arsenic exposure can cause illness. Studies conducted have suggested that individuals exposed to high levels of arsenic in drinking water (more than 100 μg/L) are at greater risk of peripheral artery disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, and atherosclerosis, according to the study’s authors.

But in 2013, an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine titled, “Association Between Exposure to Low to Moderate Arsenic Levels and Incident Cardiovascular Disease” concluded that “Long-term exposure to low to moderate arsenic levels was associated with cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality.” The important findings revolved around “low to moderate” arsenic levels–rather than “high” levels.

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