Arsenic poses long-term health risks "exceeding every other potential water contaminant," according to research presented by Allan Smith of the University of California,Berkeley,an adviser to the WHO on arsenic."Most countries have some water sources with dangerous levels of arsenic, but only now are we beginning to recognize the magnitude of the problem," mith said."It is the most dangerous contaminant of drinking water in terms of long-term health risks, and we must test all water sources worldwide as soon as possible."Speakers at the conference predicted that new arsenic pollution would occur in parts of southeast and southwest Asia, the western parts of South and Central America, and some areas in Africa.Arsenic has been found in water in the north of England, the Midlands and mid-Wales.But Ravenscroft said there was no major health risk in Britain and that tests carried out by water companies meant that public water supplies in this country were still safe to drink.
As in the days of Noah....