Inorganic contaminants in Canadian First Nation community water systems.

We examined 12 years of data from 47 First Nation community water systems to identify systems experiencing difficulties meeting sampling frequency or regulatory guidelines. While most contaminant concentrations were below guideline values, we identified elevated concentrations and issues with sampling frequency. No system met both sampling frequency requirements - a minimum of one sample per year per analyte - and regulatory guidelines. Exceedance rates for lead, manganese, and arsenic were high in some systems. Moreover, current sampling procedures for lead specify that taps be flushed prior to sampling, which is known to underestimate lead exposure. We find that a switch to random daytime sampling would at least sometimes yield higher estimates of lead at the tap. Our analysis demonstrates the need for increased monitoring and updated sampling procedures to better characterize inorganic contaminant occurrence in First Nations. PMID: 33095196 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Water and Health - Category: Environmental Health Tags: J Water Health Source Type: research