The US will soon reduce the high levels of arsenic in its drinking water.
Exposure to the poison can cause a range of health problems, from skin
complaints to cancer, heart disease and diabetes. At the moment, the US allows
up to 50 parts per billion of arsenic in its water, a limit higher than any
other developed nation. Now the Environmental Protection Agency has announced it
will introduce a new standard of 10 parts per billion, which must be met by
2006. But critics fear many small towns will find it impossibly expensive to
meet the new target.
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