University of Louisville researchers have received $3.6 million in new grant funding to study the role of arsenic exposure in causing cancer and other major health concerns. And, they think there's a simple, off-the-shelf solution -; zinc -; that could help prevent some of its worst effects.
Arsenic is highly poisonous and occurs naturally in some rocks and soil. As a result, the most common source of exposure is drinking contaminated water, particularly ground water from private wells. More than 43 million people in the U.
S. alone get their water from private wells, including many in areas of Kentucky that may be contaminated from previous coal mining. "What people don't realize is that private wells and even public water supplies serving smaller numbers of people are not regulated," said Chris States, a UofL School of Medicine researcher who's been studying arsenic's role in cancer for more than 25 years.
"People using private wells for their water are on their own to test for toxic chemicals." Chronic exposure to low doses of arsenic, as from drinking water, can cause a host of serious health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and several cancers, including skin, lung and bladder cancer. In high doses, arsenic can also be fatal.
States and collaborator, Mayukh Banerjee, backed by two new grants from the National Institutes of Health and American Cancer Society totaling $3.6 million, are working to discover what specifically about arsenic exposure can caus.