How can families reduce the risk of exposure to arsenic?
Some people may be concerned about the effects of direct skin contact with arsenic in the soil. Such exposures rely heavily on personal activities, and require intimate contact between an individual and the contaminated soil. Typically, soil exposures are higher for children than for adults, because of frequent direct contact with soils during play and other outdoor activities. Arsenic in soil is generally strongly bound to soil particles and not readily absorbed through the skin. There are various ways to reduce exposure to arsenic in the environment: • Limit contact with soil, if the soil is known to have levels of arsenic above background. Soil contact may be limited by washing hands frequently, preventing children (especially toddlers) from activities where they might ingest soil, and reducing consumption of garden root vegetables; • If drinking from a well, especially in an area with high natural arsenic in the soil, ensure that the water arsenic level is as low as possible.
