Respond to this article . Email the text of this article to yourself or to a friend . Get a print-friendly version of this article . After public outcry against this decision, the Bush administration announced on April 19 that it will set a new standard by February 2002. Representatives of companies that pollute the environment with arsenic have expressed relief at the delay.
Hormones are chemical messengers that the body produces to regulate critical life processes.
The current U.S. arsenic standard of 50 ppb was adopted in 1942. After a decade of study and public review of the scientific evidence, EPA proposed the stricter standard while Bill Clinton was president. Mr. Bush reversed EPA's decision shortly after taking office. Inorganic arsenic occurs naturally in some places. In addition, at least six million pounds of arsenic are released into the environment of the U.S. each year by mining, coal burning, copper and lead smelting, wood-preserving treatments, municipal incinerators and the use of certain pesticides.