The funding will support the creation of a methodology to determine the actual species of arsenic in groundwater. Inorganic and organic forms of arsenic are commonly found in the environment; however, the use of arsenic is very highly regulated because of its adverse effects on health. Long-term exposure to arsenic has been linked to certain kinds of cancer as well as cardiovascular, pulmonary, immunological and neurological diseases.

This study will provide a means to determine the species of arsenic contamination in groundwater wells. Ultimately this may lead to better methods of water treatment to protect the public from exposure to arsenic.

The study, based out of UHLs Ankeny laboratory, complements the ongoing work of the Iowa Statewide Rural Well Water Survey Phase II (SWRL 2), a collaborative research project with CHEEC, the Iowa Geologic Survey, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, U.S. Geological Survey and others that sample drinking water in private, rural wells.

Additional information about arsenic is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

The University Hygienic Laboratory is the state of Iowas environmental and public health laboratory, with facilities located on the University of Iowa's Oakdale Campus in Iowa City and at the Iowa Lab Facilities in Ankeny, a Des Moines suburb. Among its many services, the laboratory functions as a consultative and analytical support facility for state agencies, health professionals, and citizens. UHL is part of the University of Iowa and has developed and maintained effective and productive collaborations with the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and local public health agencies. The UHL performs analyses on samples from virtually all matrices, including human clinical specimens, air, drinking water, wastewater, soil, sediment, industrial effluents, oil and fish. In addition to performing analyses by specified methods, the UHL provides methods development and procedure verification for nonroutine analyses.