Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jan;38(1):10-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2011.08.005. Epub 2011 Sep 10.

Arsenic in North Carolina: public health implications

Alison P Sanders  1 , Kyle P Messier, Mina Shehee, Kenneth Rudo, Marc L Serre, Rebecca C Fry
Affiliations

Arsenic in North Carolina: public health implications

Alison P Sanders et al. Environ Int. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Arsenic is a known human carcinogen and relevant environmental contaminant in drinking water systems. We set out to comprehensively examine statewide arsenic trends and identify areas of public health concern. Specifically, arsenic trends in North Carolina private wells were evaluated over an eleven-year period using the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services database for private domestic well waters. We geocoded over 63,000 domestic well measurements by applying a novel geocoding algorithm and error validation scheme. Arsenic measurements and geographical coordinates for database entries were mapped using Geographic Information System techniques. Furthermore, we employed a Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) geostatistical framework, which accounts for geocoding error to better estimate arsenic values across the state and identify trends for unmonitored locations. Of the approximately 63,000 monitored wells, 7712 showed detectable arsenic concentrations that ranged between 1 and 806μg/L. Additionally, 1436 well samples exceeded the EPA drinking water standard. We reveal counties of concern and demonstrate a historical pattern of elevated arsenic in some counties, particularly those located along the Carolina terrane (Carolina slate belt). We analyzed these data in the context of populations using private well water and identify counties for targeted monitoring, such as Stanly and Union Counties. By spatiotemporally mapping these data, our BME estimate revealed arsenic trends at unmonitored locations within counties and better predicted well concentrations when compared to the classical kriging method. This study reveals relevant information on the location of arsenic-contaminated private domestic wells in North Carolina and indicates potential areas at increased risk for adverse health outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The top thirty-five counties that exceed the EPA standard (10 μg/L). Counties are ranked by the percent of wells that exceed the EPA standard and are represented in a heat map. Counties with percent of wells exceeding the statewide 2.25% appear in red-scale, while those below the statewide percent appear in blue-scale. Counties with no information available appear in white.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Geocoded arsenic concentrations in 2009. (A) Samples exceeding the EPA standard are shown in black. Well locations of samples below the standard appear in gray. (B) County averages are displayed in grayscale and the number of arsenic analyses in 2009 appear within each county. *No wells were sampled in Chowan County in 2009. (C) A classical kriging method estimated arsenic distribution across the state at unmonitored locations. (D) The Bayesian Maximum Entropy framework estimated arsenic distribution across the state at unmonitored locations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Alaerts GJ, Khouri N. Arsenic contamination of groundwater: Mitigation strategies and policies. Hydrogeology Journal. 2004;12(1):103–114.
    1. Appleyard S, Wong S, Willis-Jones B, Angeloni J, Watkins R. Groundwater acidification caused by urban development in Perth, Western Australia: source, distribution, and implications for management. Australian Journal of Soil Research. 2004;42(5-6):579–585.
    1. Ayotte JD, Montgomery DL, Flanagan SM, Robinson KW. Arsenic in groundwater in eastern New England: Occurrence, controls, and human health implications. Environ Sci Technol. 2003;37(10):2075–2083. - PubMed
    1. Bellander T, Berglind N, Gustavsson P, Jonson T, Nyberg F, Pershagen G, et al. Using geographic information systems to assess individual historical exposure to air pollution from traffic and house heating in Stockholm. Environ Health Perspect. 2001;109(6):633–639. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Christakos G. A Bayesian Maximum-Entropy view to the spatial estimation problem. Mathematical Geology. 1990;22(7):763–777.

Publication types