As arsenic is both tasteless and odourless, you won't be able to tell if it is in your drinking water. However, arsenic tends to be found in very specific regions and may not be a concern in your area. If you live in an area that has natural sources of arsenic or is known to have high levels of arsenic in its groundwater, it is recommended that you have your water tested. To do so, you can contact your regional public health office.

Arsenic in drinking water is absorbed by the body when consumed and distributed by the bloodstream. It does not enter the body externally such as inhalation or bathing. Your body gets rid of arsenic mostly through urine, with smaller amounts removed through the skin, hair, nails and sweat.

Health Canada and the International Agency for Research on Cancer consider arsenic a human cancer-causing agent. Its effects have been studied in a population in Taiwan where the drinking water contains naturally high levels of arsenic (over 0.35 ppm). The results suggest that consuming drinking water with very high levels of arsenic over a lifetime, can increase the risk of cancer in internal organs such as the bladder, liver and lungs.

Long-term exposure (over many years or decades) to high levels of arsenic in drinking water may also cause:

• thickening and discoloration of the skin;
• nausea and diarrhea;
• decreased production of blood cells;
• abnormal heart rhythm and blood vessel damage; or
• numbness in the hands and feet.

Short-term exposure (days/weeks) to very high levels of arsenic in drinking water can result in:

• abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea;
• muscular cramping or pain;
• weakness and flushing of skin, skin rash;
• numbness, burning or tingling sensation or pain in hands and feet;
• thickening of the skin on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; or
• loss of movement and sensory responses.

Because arsenic can cause cancer, every effort should be made to keep arsenic levels in drinking water as low as possible.

If you live in an area that has natural sources of arsenic or is known to have high levels of arsenic in its groundwater, you should have your water tested and consider having an arsenic water filter installed.

The MineralPRO™ Reverse Osmosis Healthy Water System has been tested by NSF as an effective arsenic water filter to remove arsenic from drinking water.

Installing an industry leading arsenic water filter such as the MineralPRO™ Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter will provide assurance that you will have safe, healthy drinking water no matter what contaminants are in your water including arsenic.

For more information, regarding arsenic water filters please contact MineralPRO™.