US schoolchildren exposed to arsenic in well water have lower IQ scores

In Maine study, rates of contamination exceed WHO and EPA guidelines

NEW YORK (April 7, 2014)—A study by researchers at Columbia University reports that schoolchildren from three school districts in Maine exposed to arsenic in drinking water experienced declines in child intelligence. While earlier studies conducted by the researchers in South Asia, and Bangladesh in particular, showed that exposure to arsenic in drinking water is negatively associated with child intelligence, this is the first study to examine intelligence against individual water arsenic exposures in the U.S. Findings are reported online in the journal, Environmental Health.

The research team, led by Joseph Graziano, PhD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, assessed 272 children in grades 3-5, who were, on average, 10 years old, from three school districts in Maine where household wells are the predominant source for drinking water and cooking. The Augusta area in particular was studied because of earlier research indicating higher than normal exposures.