U.S. Water News Online
LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan residents will be able to get free test kits to check the levels of arsenic in their well water, the state said.
The state Environmental Quality and Community Health departments have joined local health departments to conduct testing for arsenic, notify residents of the level of arsenic in their wells, discuss public health concerns, provide educational materials and suggest ways to reduce arsenic levels.
Residents can obtain test kits through their local health department. To qualify for a kit, a person must be a resident of the county or local health department jurisdiction and live in a residence served by its own water well.
Though the kits are free, it will cost residents $3 in postage to send the sample to the laboratory.
Water well testing results indicate that 48 counties may have groundwater that exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health guideline for arsenic. In October 2001, the EPA lowered the arsenic drinking standard from 50 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms per liter.
Long-term exposure to arsenic over the drinking water standard has been linked to stomach problems, fatigue, cancer, heart disease and other health problems.
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