Health Consultation: Arsenic in Private Drinking Water Wells, Cornville, Yavapai County, Arizona

摘要

Cornville, Arizona, is a growing, unincorporated rural community in eastern Yavapai County, approximately 100 miles north of downtown Phoenix. The estimated population in the area is 5,000. Residents rely almost exclusively on private domestic wells for potable water. Some residents share wells between households. Virtually all residents well water contains some arsenic, which occurs naturally in rock formations in the Verde River area and in the Agua Fria Basin, to the south. In March 2004, a resident of Cornville contacted the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to request information on arsenic in drinking water. The resident collected six well water samples from their own well and neighbors wells and submitted them to a private laboratory for arsenic analysis. The laboratory found arsenic in the water samples at levels ranging from 15 to 952 micrograms per liter (ig/L). ADEQ and the community members asked the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to provide health information about using the water. Initial conversations with the well owner and other community members revealed that many people had concerns about potential health effects from arsenic exposure.