| Research
Briefs 2004
September 23, 2004
New Arsenic Drinking Water Standard May Still be Toxic
 |
Joshua Hamilton
Ph.D. |
Arsenic could be toxic at much
lower levels than previously thought, suggesting that the
new EPA drinking water standard of 10 parts per billion might
still be too high, according to a team of researchers at Dartmouth
Medical School. The study, which appears in the August edition
of Chemical Research in Toxicology, shows that in cell cultures
extremely low levels of arsenic act as an endocrine disruptor.
Endocrine disruption is likely to be an important contributor
to arsenic's ability to increase risk of a host of diseases
including several forms of cancer, heart disease, diabetes,
and reproductive or developmental problems. MORE>>
[Abstract]
Arsenic at Very Low Concentrations Alters Glucocorticoid
Receptor (GR)-Mediated Gene Activation but Not GR-Mediated
Gene Repression: Complex Dose-Response Effects Are Closely
Correlated with Levels of Activated GR and Require a Functional
GR DNA Binding Domain
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