Review by Choice Review
Arsenic represents the proceedings of a 1995 international conference. Arsenic is found in drinking water supplies around the world, often naturally and also from human activities such as mining. It is sometimes found at levels, e.g., at certain locations in India, that obviously poison people drinking it. More often, the concern is the long-term effect of ingesting lower levels over many years--especially because it is a known human carcinogen. An international effort is underway to better understand arsenic as a chemical and a poison, and how to remove it from drinking water. EPA is charged by Congress to set a drinking water arsenic level to protect people who drink this water over many years. Because arsenic occurs naturally, zero-level is not an option. Further, small communities can ill afford the cost of reducing this level further than necessary. In many cases, people receive most arsenic naturally through their diets (plants), so lowering drinking water levels may not be helpful. For people with contaminated wells, other sources of water are cheaper. This book is an excellent source of information on this fascinating but sobering topic. Graduate students through professionals. M. K. Hill University of Maine
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
