Impact of lowering the US maximum contaminant level on arsenic exposure: Differences by race, region, and water arsenic in NHANES 2003–2014

Abstract

Our objective was to evaluate regional and sociodemographic inequalities in water arsenic exposure reductions associated with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Final Arsenic Rule, which lowered the arsenic maximum contaminant level to 10 μg/L in public water systems. We analyzed 8544 participants from the 2003-14 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reliant on community water systems (CWSs). We estimated arsenic exposure from water by recalibrating urinary dimethylarsinate (rDMA) to remove smoking and dietary contributions. We evaluated mean differences and corresponding percent reductions of urinary rDMA comparing subsequent survey cycles to 2003-04 (baseline), stratified by region, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and tertile of CWS arsenic assigned at the county level. The overall difference (percent reduction) in urine rDMA was 0.32 μg/L (9%) among participants with the highest tertile of CWS arsenic, comparing 2013-14 to 2003-04. Declines in urinary rDMA were largest in regions with the highest water arsenic: the South [0.57 μg/L (16%)] and West [0.46 μg/L, (14%)]. Declines in urinary rDMA levels were significant and largest among Mexican American [0.99 μg/L (26%)] and Non-Hispanic White [0.25 μg/L (10%)] participants. Reductions in rDMA following the Final Arsenic Rule were highest among participants with the highest CWS arsenic concentrations, supporting legislation can benefit those who need it the most, although additional efforts are still needed to address remaining inequalities in CWS arsenic exposure.