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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

After receiving a report that shows more serious health problems than expected, the Environmental Protection Agency now wants to set an arsenic in drinking water standard as tough as the one pulled back by the Bush administration in March.

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman has decided to request the strict limit, spurred on by a report by the National Academy of Sciences. The standard will not be any weaker than 10 parts per billion, and may be even stricter.

The Clinton administration had approved the 10ppb standard. But Whitman pulled it back, saying more studies needed to prove the need.

Arsenic can cause bladder, lung and skin cancer, and may cause liver and kidney cancer, according to a 1999 study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences. The report, however, did not provide a formal risk assessment of arsenic in drinking water.

The latest report bolsters the need for a standard, officials said. It is due to be released today.

Get the Story:
EPA to Urge Tighter Rules For Arsenic (The Washington Post 9/11)

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