Urinary Arsenic Biomonitoring Results In Relation To Inorganic Arsenic In Private Drinking Water Supplies In Cornwall, South West England

Cornwall, UK is a region with high concentrations of environmental arsenic (As). Previous studies found elevated concentrations in urine and toenails of some local residents. Private water supply (PWS) usage is relatively common in Cornwall with an estimated 60,000 people served. A recent British Geological survey and Public Health England survey of 512 households across Cornwall found 5.5 % of drinking water samples with As exceeding 10 µg/L, the UK Prescribed Concentration Value.. We report here a subsequent urinary biomonitoring survey in a sample of these households to (1) quantify human exposure to inorganic As, and (2) assess the importance of PWS as an exposure route. Volunteers (n=207) in 127 households provided a first morning void or spot urine sample for As speciation (by HPLC-ICP-MS), along with hair and toenail samples to reflect longer term exposure (Middleton et al, submitted and presented at the 6th International Conference on Medical Geology, Aveiro, Portugal, July 2015). Environmental sa...