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Arsenic is a potentially toxic carcinogen (cancer causing element) that can be found in the air, soil, food, and water of exposed environments. Arsenic can find its way into the environment naturally in areas with certain types of rocks or volcanoes or artificially when emitted from power plants, used in pressure treated woods, used as a pesticide, and included in products like lead-acid automobile batteries. Arsenic can find its way into drinking water and food as well. Because of the threat posed by arsenic exposure there have been several types of arsenic legislation that have been passed in the United States. This arsenic legislation addresses the issues of arsenic in pressure treated woods, the use of arsenic as a pesticide, the amount of arsenic in drinking water, and the means of removing arsenic from our water supply.
Ninety percent of the arsenic produced is used as a preservative in pressure treated wood. Arsenic in this form- called Chromate Copper Arsenate (CCA) - helps to protect wood from rotting and decay caused by the elements, aging and insects. This CCA pressure treated wood has been used commercially and residentially for decades. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted studies revealing the potential harmful consequences of exposure, they met with the manufacturers of CCA pressure treated wood to agree that this product would no longer be made available for residential use. Arsenic legislation was passed so that pressure treated wood would no longer be available for residential use by December 2003 or January 2004.
Arsenic was once used as a pesticide on cotton fields and different types of orchards. Because of arsenic legislation, it is no longer legal to use inorganic arsenic compounds as pesticides. Since this arsenic legislation passed, alternative pesticide compounds have been developed.
Arsenic can leak into drinking water and can be very injurious to human health. Since 1942 the government has passed arsenic legislation, placing restrictions on the levels of arsenic that can be found in drinking water. In 1975 the standard of fifty parts of arsenic per billion (ppb) was established based on 1942 findings. The EPA re-evaluated the effects of arsenic levels in drinking water and found that long term exposure to drinking water with arsenic at this level caused serious health problems, including several kinds of cancer. The laws were then changed to the standard of a maximum ten ppb under the Clinton administration. The recent administration has changed the arsenic legislation of the Safe Drinking Water Act back to the original fifty ppb.
Most arsenic legislation has been passed with the goal of protecting people from the harmful health consequences of exposure to arsenic. It is possible that more arsenic legislation measures will be passed in the future to further protect people from arsenic exposure. If you have been exposed to arsenic and your health has been compromised as a result it is important to speak with a legal professional who can advise you of your legal rights and options.
Pressure treated wood using arsenic, an effective poison for hundreds of years, was used in deck construction for many years but is no longer sold for residential use. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned most uses of arsenic as a pesticide...
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