Drinking dangerous arsenic water like smoking

High concentrations of arsenic-contaminated drinking water can be as dangerous as smoking for long periods of time.

The study was carried out by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which found that high concentrations of arsenic-contaminated drinking water could be dangerous to the lungs. This is like the impact of cigarette smoke on a smoker for decades.

Drinking water contaminated with arsenic can cause many health problems.(Artwork: extension.usu.edu)

In this new study, a group of US and Bangladeshi public health scientists took 20,000 samples of drinking water from volunteers with different arsenic concentrations in Bangladesh. The team took urine samples from volunteers to determine the arsenic concentration in each person's blood. Later, scientists measured the lung function of volunteers by asking them to blow into a spirometer.

As a result, people who drink water with high arsenic levels have reduced lung function, similar to those who used to smoke at high doses for a long time. Doctors say people who drink water with high levels of arsenic often have many health problems such as nerve damage, digestive system damage, kidneys, liver and immune system. More dangerous, high concentrations of arsenic also cause diabetes, heart disease and lung cancer.

In addition to Bangladesh, other countries such as Argentina, Chile, China, India, Mexico also have water sources that are not safe to use, Pop-Sci said.

The US Environmental Protection Agency said there are many effective measures to remove arsenic in drinking water but it cannot be applied in Bangladesh. In the report of the World Health Organization, American epidemiologist Allan Smith called the situation in Bangladesh "the largest collective poisoning in history".