Jayarathina [creativecommons license] via Wikimedia CommonsExposure to arsenic through drinking water can have deleterious effects on reproductive and developmental processes in humans and animals. As a result, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a maximum acceptable concentration for arsenic in drinking water. This limit was 50 ppb until 2001, when it was reduced to 10 ppb because of concerns that higher levels were associated with increased cancer risks. Since then, researchers, including Joshua W. Hamilton (Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA), have continued to investigate the effects of lower concentrations of arsenic on development and disease.
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