Arsenic in Groundwater, groundwater contaminant Arsenic, Symposium, Sacramento California, October 2001

<body rightmargin=0 bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#000066" vlink="#000066" alink="#CCCC99"> <table width="94%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center"> <tr> <td height="5" > <div align="center"><img src="arseniclogo.gif" width="422" height="45"></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" height="2" ><img src="filler.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" height="433" ><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The Groundwater Resources Association will be hosting the third symposium in The Series on Groundwater Contaminants: Arsenic. Cooperating organizations include the International Association of Hydrogeologists, USGS, National Ground Water Association, Water Education Foundation, Association of California Water Agencies, and others. The Symposium will be held in Sacramento; the tentative date for the one-day event is October 2, 2001. </font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1" color="#990033"><b>Arsenic is Ubiquitous.</b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><img src="elem_33_b.gif" align="left" vspace="12" hspace="15" border="1" width="78" height="102"></font></p> <blockquote> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Arsenic, with the exception of hazardous waste hot spots, occurs naturally in the environment. The distribution of arsenic in soil, groundwater and surface water has been extensively investigated during the past two decades. The USGS has collected and analyzed arsenic in potable water from over 18,000 wells in nearly 600 counties across the US. While arsenic is ubiquitous and generally detectable at some concentration, the issue of focus is to what extent are detections of arsenic significant with regard to protecting water supplies and public health. </font></p> </blockquote> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1" color="#990033"><b>Regulatory Process Stymied.</b></font></p> <blockquote> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">For centuries, arsenic has been recognized as a toxic element. In 1999, the National Research Council (NRC) reported on historical toxicological studies relating to arsenic and its contribution to a variety of cancers. Further, the NRC recommended that the present maximum contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water of 50 ug/l be lowered. After decades of scientific study, followed by the USEPA regulatory process of public review and comment, the USEPA in January 2001 recommended that the standard be lowered to 10 ug/l. Shortly thereafter, in March 2001, the process for EPA to reach a final decision on the rule came to an abrupt halt. With the entrance of the new political administration, and a new head of the USEPA, the recommendation to lower the standard was delayed for reasons cited to be a lack of "clear proof" of the health risk and the need to allow for independent reviews of the science behind the studies and estimates of implementation costs. </font></p> </blockquote> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1" color="#990033"><b>Arsenic Symposium.</b></font></p> <blockquote> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">While the extensive and prolonged process of reevaluating the arsenic MCL had reached a tentative milestone early this year, the delay has caused intense focus on the regulatory process of developing or changing drinking water standards. This Symposium is planned to bring the scientific community, regulators, water purveyors, industry, attorneys, and political representatives up-to-date on the current issues surrounding arsenic in groundwater. </font></p> </blockquote> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>The format of the one-day conference will be similar to GRA's recent symposium on Hexavalent Chromium and includes the following sessions:</b></font></p> <ol> <ol> <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Arsenic Geochemical Characteristics and Distribution</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br> </font></li> <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Risk, Toxicology and Regulations</font><br> </li> <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Water Supplies and Social, Political, Economic and Legal Issues<br> </font></li> <li><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Treatment and Remediation</font></li> </ol> </ol> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" height="2" ><img src="filler.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" height="2" ><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"></font> <ol> </ol> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1" color="#990033"><b>Please check this page periodically for updates to this announcement.</b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" height="2" > </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="2" > <div align="center"><font size="-2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>www.grac.org, </b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2" color="#000000"><b><font size="-1">©</font> </b></font><font size="-2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Copyright 2000, Groundwater Resources Association of California</b></font><font size="-2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><br> Site designed and maintained by <a href="http://www.ihappi.com" target="_blank">I Happi Web Design</a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </body>