The Stilsons contacted the DNR and were offered an experimental whole-house water treatment system. The Stilsons use bottled water for cooking and drinking, and have gotten regular medical checkups. Still, experts can t guarantee that using arsenic-contaminated water for bathing won t cause health problems. That bothers me. It is found in both organic and inorganic forms.
Organic forms found in ocean fish and seafood are relatively nontoxic.
Because arsenic is a natural part of our environment, everyone is exposed to trace amounts in foods, wood and coal smoke, tobacco products and dust from some industrial processes. Normally, arsenic is excreted from the body within a few days. There are pockets of arsenic contamination statewide, but wells drilled into bedrock layers called St. Peter Sandstone and Galena-Platteville Dolomite in northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern Wisconsin appear to contain higher levels of arsenic. These layers are the primary sources of drinking water in Outagamie, Winnebago and portions of Brown counties. More than 20,000 private drinking water wells and 434 public water systems draw water from these rock formations.