Maine Water Arsenic | Are you Healthy?

Have you ever considered asking your doctor to perform a test to see if you or your children have been exposed to Arsenic or other Heavy Metals? If you haven’t, you may want to consider doing so.

Local Maine doctors performing these lab tests are reporting seeing Arsenic and other heavy metals, such as Uranium, coming back elevated in a noticeable percentage of patient reports.

Today, testing your home’s water for Arsenic (which we definitely recommend) may no longer be enough. Testing your body for Arsenic may turn out to be just as important.

Maine Water | 1 in 10 Risk Factor for Arsenic 
Arsenic in Maine

Maine water Arsenic can be found in any home that receives its water supply from a
private well.

In fact, if you live in Maine and your water comes from a private water supply, you have a 1 in 10 chance of having Arsenic levels that exceed State and Federal maximum safety limits.

In a recent US Geological survey, Every 1 in 10 homes in Maine that receives water from a private well, has Arsenic levels above recommended maximums. Levels above these recommendations place individuals at greater risk for health related concerns associated with Arsenic toxicity.

For more information about Arsenic health effects and associated risk factors see:

Maine drinking water standards and health risks


Why is Arsenic a Concern?

Arsenic toxicity in people has been linked to many serious cancerous and non-cancerous health related problems. These are issues that can affect both children and adults.

Cancers Arsenic has been linked to:

  • Prostate
  • Kidneys & liver
  • Lungs
  • Nasal passages
  • Skin

Non-Cancer Causing Symptoms:

  • Increased risk of heart disease
  • Increased risk of Diabetes
  • Kidney damage
  • Immune suppression
  • Numbness in extremities
  • Discoloration and/or thickening of the skin
  • Stomach pains including Nausea
  • Vomiting and diarrhea
  • Partial paralysis and blindness

For more information on the risk factors associated with Arsenic Toxicity, check out Arsenic in Maine Water | Top 5 Risk Factors.

Is Arsenic in your Body?

Testing your home’s water for the presence of Arsenic is very simple. Most anyone who has purchased a home in recent years has probably performed the test (via their home inspector) whether they were aware of it or not. Test kits can be obtained through your local State Certified Testing Facility or through the State of Maine itself.

But these days, it would appear that only checking your water for Arsenic might not paint a complete picture, when it comes to your health as it relates to Arsenic. You may need to have yourself checked and possibly your family as well.

What Doctors are now Finding

Dr. Peter Knight ND is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, in Falmouth Maine. His practice, Healthy Living Health Care, specializes in not only traditional medical treatments, but more importantly in preventing many of the chronic health issues so many Americans experience today.

Healthy Living Health Care definitely takes a whole person, or people based approach with their patients. What impressed me the most about Healthy Living is their willingness to look at the overall picture when it comes to the health of their patients.

Quoting directly from the first paragraph on Healthy Living’s home page, they specialize in offering their patients;

“scientifically-sound, intellectually honest, people-based health care

Wouldn’t it be great if all health care professionals took that type of approach?

Living Healthy and Maine Water Arsenic

Not long ago Dr. Knight began focusing on performing heavy metals testing for his patients who had symptoms possibly related to the side effects associated with heavy metals toxicity.

What he has found is quite eye opening! A noticeable percentage of the patients Dr. Knight has performed heavy metals testing on have reported elevated levels of Arsenic and Uranium in their systems.

In his recent article “Are you getting a daily dose of arsenic and uranium?” Peter goes on to explain;

“While I was disturbed by these findings, I was not surprised as they are consistent with what I have been finding in my clinical practice.

When I have patients do tests to check heavy metal levels I frequently see elevated levels of Uranium and/or Arsenic.

In almost all cases when one or both of these two heavy metals are elevated the patient informs me that they rely on well water as their primary water supply.

…If you have well water, you cannot assume that your water is fine just because it tastes great, even if the neighbor’s well tested fine.  Don’t put yourself or your family at risk.”

What do I do?

I Preface the following by reminding everyone that Ward Water is not a health care organization. We’re not Doctors and any insights we offer can never take the place of working with a Doctor who truly knows you and understands your situation.

What we can do, however, is to offer our professional advice when it comes to making sure your family’s  drinking water is safe from Arsenic and other health related contaminants.

1.       Test your Water 

If you haven’t had your home’s drinking water tested recently, performing a few simple water tests is the best possible thing you can do.

Most of the really harmful contaminants found in water, such as Arsenic, Uranium, Radon and Bacteria are undetectable. You can’t see, smell or taste them. Unless you’ve had your water professionally tested, there’s a good chance you’ll never even know if there’s a problem.

2.       Speak with a Doctor

If you have any concern whatsoever that you or your family has been exposed to Arsenic, talk to a Doctor who is experienced dealing with heavy metals toxicity.

A good Doctor will evaluate your situation in its entirety, and take the time to understand you as a person- not just as a series of numbers on a chart.

3.       Contact a Reputable Water Treatment Professional

If you’re concerned that your water may contain Arsenic and would like to perform a water test, or if your water has already been tested and came back with elevated Arsenic levels, contact a treatment professional with extensive experience in dealing with Arsenic mitigation.

Find out what types of treatment systems the company deals in and make absolute certain they evaluate the other contents of your water (pH, minerals etc).

It’s imperative to look at the overall composition of your water before deciding on a proper treatment recommendation. This cannot be overstated enough.

And just like choosing a Doctor that’s right for you, make sure the treatment company you decide to deal with understands your family’s “overall” needs as a whole.

Remember…you are the real patient…not your water. Treating your home’s well water should be looked at as nothing more than a possible remedy to a more serious symptom.