WATER
is essential for all dimensions of life. The quality of water in rivers and underground aquifers has deteriorated, due to pollution by waste and contaminants from cities, industry and agriculture. Over one billion people lack safe water. Since water is so essential to our health, then we should strive to make our drinking water as safe as we can from contaminants. High levels of naturally occurring arsenic are found in our region and therefore our drinking water is contaminated. This experiment seeks to solve the problem of overexposure to arsenic. In our preliminary investigation water was sampled from the hot water and cold water side of the tap. It was collected from city water sources, well water sources, and from small and large towns. The water was put into containers with nitric acid to keep the arsenic in solution in the samples. An independent lab analyzed the water for arsenic levels using a mass spectrometer to provide the most accurate results.We found that if water is drawn from the hot water side of the tap, then its arsenic level will be lower than the cold water side of the tap. We believe this would be due to the build-up of minerals and metals (including arsenic) inside the hot water tanks. We think this would only be true for regions that have “hard water,” and not for other regions of the country. A solution to the problem of high levels of arsenic in drinking water could be an educational campaign teaching people which side of the tap to use in their homes. Additional tests will be used to confirm this trend.
is essential for all dimensions of life. The quality of water in rivers and underground aquifers has deteriorated, due to pollution by waste and contaminants from cities, industry and agriculture. Over one billion people lack safe water. Since water is so essential to our health, then we should strive to make our drinking water as safe as we can from contaminants. High levels of naturally occurring arsenic are found in our region and therefore our drinking water is contaminated. This experiment seeks to solve the problem of overexposure to arsenic. In our preliminary investigation water was sampled from the hot water and cold water side of the tap. It was collected from city water sources, well water sources, and from small and large towns. The water was put into containers with nitric acid to keep the arsenic in solution in the samples. An independent lab analyzed the water for arsenic levels using a mass spectrometer to provide the most accurate results.We found that if water is drawn from the hot water side of the tap, then its arsenic level will be lower than the cold water side of the tap. We believe this would be due to the build-up of minerals and metals (including arsenic) inside the hot water tanks. We think this would only be true for regions that have “hard water,” and not for other regions of the country. A solution to the problem of high levels of arsenic in drinking water could be an educational campaign teaching people which side of the tap to use in their homes. Additional tests will be used to confirm this trend.
