Arsenic in water affects DNA repair

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Public release date: 26-May-2006

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Dartmouth College

Dartmouth study finds that arsenic inhibits DNA repair

HANOVER, NH - Dartmouth researchers, working with scientists at the

University of Arizona and at the Department of Natural Resources in Sonora,

Mexico,

have published a study on the impact of arsenic exposure on DNA damage. They

have determined that arsenic in drinking water is associated with a decrease

in the body's ability to repair its DNA.

" This work supports the idea that arsenic in drinking water can promote the

carcinogenic effects of other chemicals, " says Angeline , the lead

author and a research assistant professor of community and family medicine at

Dartmouth Medical School. " This is evidence that it's more important than ever

to keep arsenic out of drinking water. "

The study, which was published online on May 10, 2006, in the journal

Environmental Health Perspectives, examined the drinking water and measured the

arsenic levels in samples of urine and toenails of people who were enrolled in

epidemiologic studies in New Hampshire, and in Sonora, Mexico.

and her colleagues examined the data in conjunction with tissue

samples from the study participants to determine the effect of arsenic on DNA

repair. To further corroborate their findings, the researchers conducted

laboratory studies to examine the effects of arsenic on DNA repair in cultured

human

cell models.

" The DNA repair machinery normally protects us from DNA-damaging agents,

such as those found in cigarette smoke, " says . " The concern is that

exposure to drinking water arsenic may exacerbate the harmful effects of

smoking

or other exposures. "

explains that in regions of the United States where the rock contains

higher levels of arsenic, the greater the likelihood that drinking water

sources contain some potential adverse levels of the toxin. While the levels of

arsenic in municipal water systems are regularly monitored, there is no

mandated testing of arsenic levels in private wells. This is of particular

concern

since the regions where arsenic levels are high are in rural regions, such

as New Hampshire, Maine, Michigan and some regions of the Southwest and

Rockies. Private wells are common in these areas as primary sources of drinking

water.

###

(More information on drinking water testing and remediation options can be

found from the NH Department of Environmental Services:

_http://www.des.state.nh.us/ws.htm_ (http://www.des.state.nh.us/ws.htm) or the

US Environmental

Protection Agency:

_http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/drinkwater/private_well_owners.html)_

(http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/drinkwater/private_well_owners.html))

's co-authors on this paper are: Jefferey Burgess, Meza, Eugene

Demidenko, Waugh, Hamilton, and Margaret Karagas, all from

Dartmouth Medical School, the Department of Environmental and Community Health

at

the University of Arizona, or the Department of Natural Resources at the

Technological Institute of Sonora, Mexico.

The research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of

Health, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National

Cancer Institute, the Dartmouth and Arizona Superfund Programs, and the

American

Society of Preventive Oncology.

_http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/dc-dsf052606.php_

(http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/dc-dsf052606.php)

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B.Olinsky, M.S.

Environmental Specialist