Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that can be found in plants, animals, water, soil, rocks, and air. Arsenic can also be found in the environment due to several industrial and agricultural practices.
Arsenic is typically found in chemical compounds, though it can occasionally be discovered in its pure state as a steel-gray metal. These substances are separated into two groups:
- These compounds, which contain arsenic coupled with atoms other than carbon, are present in industry, building materials (such as some “pressure-treated woods”), and water contaminated with arsenic. This type of arsenic has a reputation for being more dangerous and has been connected to cancer.
- Arsenic coupled with carbon and other elements forms organic molecules, which have a lower toxicity than inorganic arsenic compounds and aren’t thought to cause cancer. Certain foods, like fish and shellfish, contain organic substances.
In This Article...
What is cancer-causing in water?
Any chemical produced by human activity has the potential to enter water systems and will eventually do so. Depending on whether they enter the water as a result of treatment procedures, source water contamination, or user ingestion, the types and concentrations of carcinogens present in drinking water at the moment of consumption will vary. Hazardous waste, asbestos, radon, agricultural chemicals, and arsenic are some of the contaminants in source water that are of concern. The strongest proof of a cancer risk among these is associated with arsenic, which has been related to malignancies of the liver, lung, bladder, and kidney. The cancer risk associated with drinking water may be mostly attributed to the use of chlorine for water treatment to lower the danger of infectious disease. The by-products of chlorination are thought to be responsible for the 5000 occurrences of bladder cancer and 8000 cases of rectal cancer that occur each year in the United States. Water fluoridation has been under a lot of scrutiny, although it doesn’t seem to increase the risk of cancer. The dangers posed by contaminants from drinking-water distribution pipes, linings, joints, and fixtures as well as by biologically active micropollutants such microbiological agents need to be identified and quantified. Additional study on strategies to reduce cancer risks from drinking water is required, as well as more efficient ways to check the quality of drinking water.
Lead in water: Can it cause cancer?
There is no safe level of lead exposure, and those who are exposed to it most at risk are infants, young children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and women who are trying to get pregnant. Lead can circulate in the blood during pregnancy and remain in the bones for decades, potentially harming both the mother and fetus. The metal imitates calcium in the body and results in brain damage, seizures, behavioral abnormalities, premature birth, low birth weight, and poorer IQ scores.
Lead compounds are classified by the American Cancer Society as a potential human carcinogen having a connection to many cancers, including kidney, brain, and lung cancer. High blood pressure and stroke risk are also increased. Fortunately, lead cannot cross the skin-water barrier, making bathing safe as long as no lead is consumed.
Which factor makes cancer more likely?
Ionizing radiation, which has specific wavelengths, has enough energy to destroy DNA and result in cancer. Radon, x-rays, gamma rays, and other high-energy radiation sources are examples of ionizing radiation. Visible light, cellular energy, and electromagnetic fields are examples of lower-energy, non-ionizing radiation that does not harm DNA and has not been linked to the development of cancer.
Rocks and soil release radon, a radioactive gas. When the radioactive element radium decays, radon is produced. The radioactive elements uranium and thorium decay to produce radium. Lung cancer risk is higher for those who are exposed to high radon levels.
You might want to have your house radon tested if you reside in a region of the nation where the rocks and soil contain high concentrations of the gas. Home radon testing are inexpensive and simple to use. Test kits are typically sold in hardware stores. There are numerous methods for bringing the radon levels in a house down to a safe level.
Cancer can be brought on by high-energy radiation, such as x-rays, gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles, and neutrons. These radiation types may be discharged in nuclear power plant accidents as well as during the development, testing, or use of atomic weapons.
Cancer-causing cell damage can also result from some medical treatments, including chest x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, positron emission tomography (PET) scans, and radiation therapy. However, the likelihood of developing cancer as a result of these medical operations is extremely low, and the benefits of having them are almost always outweighed by the dangers.
If you believe that radiation exposure may have increased your risk of developing cancer, discuss this with your doctor. People who are thinking about getting a CT scan should discuss the procedure’s risks and advantages with their doctor to determine whether it is essential for them. Patients with cancer may want to discuss with their doctors how radiation therapy may raise their chance of developing a second cancer in the future.
Does drinking water chlorine cause cancer?
The myth that chlorine in drinking water or swimming pools might cause cancer is unfounded.
However, chlorine and chlorine gas can exacerbate respiratory diseases, and exposure to excessive levels of chlorine can have a number of negative health effects. There is just weak evidence that suggests DBPs in drinking water may slightly raise the risk of cancer. The presence of pathogens in water poses a considerably greater and more immediate risk to public health than exposure to DBPs, hence the Australian Drinking Guidelines include guideline values for a variety of DBPs to reduce their production while maintaining disinfection.
Can cancer be caused by iron in water?
According to a study by engineers at UC Riverside, rusty iron pipes can react with leftover disinfectants in drinking water distribution systems to produce carcinogenic hexavalent chromium in drinking water.
Metal called chromium can be found naturally in groundwater and soil. Trivalent chromium is eventually found in food and drinking water supplies and is regarded to have no negative health consequences. Iron frequently has chromium added to it to increase corrosion resistance.
Chromium atoms can undergo specific chemical changes that result in the hexavalent form, which causes genetic alterations in cells that lead to cancer. This cancer-causing type of chromium was at the center of Erin Brockovich’s case in the Central Valley of California, which inspired an Oscar-winning movie.
The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering’s Haizhou Liu, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering who specializes in water treatment chemistry, had an inkling that some of the chromium found in drinking water might result from chemical reactions between water disinfectants and the chromium in cast iron corrosion scales.
Together with Cheng Tan, a PhD student, and Sumant Avasarala, a postdoctoral researcher, Liu collected sections of two pipelines that had been in use for roughly five and seventy years, respectively, and caused corrosion on some of them. The samples were stripped of rust, ground into a powder, and their chromium content and kinds were measured. The samples were then immersed in hypochlorous acid, a form of chlorine that is frequently employed in municipal drinking water treatment plants and drinking water distribution networks.
The research was taken aback when zerovalent chromium found in the rusted iron pipes changed more quickly to the hazardous form than trivalent chromium, which had previously been turned into toxic hexavalent chromium in water disinfectants. They then conducted modeling tests to depict a variety of potential scenarios for the amount of hexavalent chromium that might flow from the tap under actual environmental circumstances. The worst-case situation happened when drinking water had significant levels of bromide.
“These new findings challenge our conventional wisdom on the management of hexavalent chromium in drinking water and highlight the need of regulating the drinking water distribution infrastructure, according to Liu.
The report warns that recycled and desalinated water, both of which tend to contain greater bromide levels, will become increasingly essential as the global water problem worsens, underlining the need to comprehend and prevent chromium contamination. In addition to using a disinfectant less reactive with chromium, such as monochloramine, the paper advises reducing the usage of pipes with high amounts of chromium alloy.
A National Science Foundation CAREER Program award helped to fund the project. The document “Environmental Science and Technology has published Hexavalent Chromium Release in Drinking Water Distribution Systems: New Insights on Zerovalent Chromium in Iron Corrosion Scales.
Does drinking water nitrate cause cancer?
Increased nitrate in water sources has been related to bladder, kidney, thyroid, ovarian, and colon cancers, with colon cancer showing the highest correlation and causing an estimated 6,500 cases of cancers that can be attributed to nitrate.
What brings on cancer?
Since genes that determine how our cells behave, particularly how they grow and divide, are altered, cancer is a genetic disease.
Cancer-causing genetic alterations can occur because:
- of mistakes that happen when cells divide.
- of DNA deterioration brought on by unfavorable environmental elements including the toxins in tobacco smoke and the sun’s UV radiation. (More details can be found in our section on cancer causes and prevention.)
- they were handed down to us by our parents.
Cells with damaged DNA are typically eliminated by the body before they develop into cancer. But as we become older, the body becomes less capable of doing so. This contributes to the increased chance of developing cancer later in life.
The genetic mutations in every person’s cancer are different from one another. More alterations will take place when the cancer spreads. Different cells in the same tumor may have different genetic alterations.
Is tap water harmful?
Tap water from public water systems is safe to drink in the majority of the United States and Canada. Filtered tap water is just as safe as bottled water and gives you access to vital minerals that bottled water might not offer.
Despite the fact that drinking tap water is mostly safe, it’s still a good idea to monitor regional water advisories in your area. Temporary contamination might result from events like a busted water pipe or a malfunctioning piece of equipment at the water treatment facility.
When visiting less developed nations that don’t have the same degree of infrastructure or safety regulations, you might also wish to stick to bottled water. For instance, a 2017 analysis of the literature revealed that Mexico’s maximum permissible limit of arsenic in drinking water is 2.5 times higher than the advice of the World Health Organization.
Learn everything you need to know about drinking North American tap water by continuing to read.
Is it safe to drink tap water?
My tap water: Does it contain any dangerous chemicals? Water providers must adhere to strict requirements for all tap water that is provided for human use, ensuring that you can drink it every day without risk.
What is the main factor that causes cancer?
Obesity, a poor diet, and excessive alcohol consumption are all contributing factors to an increase in cancer incidence and deaths, however smoking is still by far the leading cause of cancer and cancer deaths.
