Can Water Storage Habits Influence the Cancer Risk of Drinking Arsenic Contaminated Water?

The removal of Arsenic from well water by co-precipitation with indigenous Iron was studied in 4 villages of West Bengal, India. A correlation exists between concentrations of Arsenic and Iron, and the Fe/As ratio (W/W) present was above 10 in all of the studied tube wells. The Arsenic concentration was in the range of 0-220 μg/l. The study showed that the actual risk of getting various cancers is 11% less than calculated if water was taken straight from the tube well, and the risk can be reduced by 77% if the water is allowed to stand for 24 hours and filtered. The literature review shows that there is a need for risk evaluation at lower Arsenic concentration levels (less than 170 μg/l).