MSGID: 1:317/3 64acdb30   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Massachusetts drinking water may contain unsafe levels of manganese   
      
      
     Date:   
         July 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         Boston University School of Public Health   
     Summary:   
         A new study has found that concentrations of manganese in   
         a Massachusetts community's drinking water often surpassed   
         the maximum recommended levels of manganese stated in current   
         guidelines. The findings also suggest that the observed manganese   
         levels may be high enough to pose a risk to children and other   
         vulnerable communities who are exposed.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A new study measured manganese levels in the residential tap water of a   
   Holliston, Mass. community and found that the manganese concentrations   
   occasionally exceeded the maximum safety level recommended in state and   
   federal guidelines.   
      
   Manganese is an unregulated contaminant often found in drinking water,   
   but safe levels of this metal are currently unknown, and prior research   
   has indicated that overexposure to manganese may be harmful to children.   
      
   Now, a new study led by researchers at Boston University School of   
   Public Health (BUSPH) has found that concentrations of manganese in a   
   Massachusetts community's drinking water often surpassed the maximum   
   recommended levels of manganese stated in current guidelines.   
      
   Published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology,   
   a Nature publication, the findings also suggest that the observed   
   manganese levels may be high enough to pose a risk to children and other   
   vulnerable communities who are exposed.   
      
   Manganese is a naturally occurring component of soil and rock, and it   
   is both an essential nutrient and a toxic substance -- so, too little   
   or too much exposure can be harmful to health. Despite the fact that   
   manganese is found in many communities' drinking water across the US,   
   it is not federally regulated.   
      
   The US Environmental Protection Agency has developed guidelines that   
   identify a maximum level of daily exposure to manganese for "aesthetic"   
   purposes (i.e.   
      
   color and taste), as well as for the overall health and safety of the   
   general population. But these guidelines are only recommendations;   
   they cannot be enforced in the way that established primary standards can.   
      
   "Some level of manganese is needed for health, but growing evidence   
   suggests that excess levels of manganese can harm children's brains,"   
   says study lead and corresponding author Alexa Friedman, a doctoral   
   student at BUSPH at the time of the study. "Our findings suggest that the   
   level of manganese that is present in public drinking water exceeded, on   
   average, the aesthetic guidelines 40 percent of the time, and health-based   
   guidelines 9 percent of the time.   
      
   These data support the need for a legally enforceable primary drinking   
   water standard for manganese in order to better protect children's   
   health."  The new study is among the first to examine manganese   
   concentrations in drinking water across time and location in the United   
   States.   
      
   For the study, Friedman and colleagues examined residential   
   tap water samples collected between September 2018 to December   
   2019 in the suburban community of Holliston, Mass., as part of a   
   community-initiated pilot study called ACHIEVE (Assessing Children's   
   Environmental Exposures). Holliston residents had reported concerns   
   about the quality of their drinking water and the safety of children in   
   the community after noticing that their tap water turned black or brown   
   occasionally. Communities that receive tap water from shallow aquifers   
   are especially vulnerable to being exposed to high levels of manganese,   
   and Holliston residents rely on this source for almost all of their   
   drinking water.   
      
   "Although averagewater manganese concentrations in Holliston were   
   relatively low, our work showed that levels nonetheless often exceed   
   the current aesthetic and health-based guidelines," says study senior   
   author Birgit Claus Henn, associate professor of environmental health at   
   BUSPH. "While the existing guidelines may be helpful benchmarks, without   
   an enforceable standard in place, there is a limit to what will be done   
   to ensure the water is safe to drink and/ or meets these guidelines."   
   The researchers also compared their community-level manganese samples to   
   public data on state-wide manganese levels. They found comparable ranges,   
   suggesting that overexposure to manganese is not an isolated issue within   
   the Holliston community.   
      
   To better understand the health risks of exposure to manganese in drinking   
   water, Claus Henn and Friedman recommend that policymakers and other   
   researchers increase monitoring of manganese in water, conduct health   
   studies on this exposure in communities, and consider an enforceable   
   standard.   
      
   "If residents are concerned about the level of manganese in their drinking   
   water, they should refer to these resources online from Massachusetts   
   Department of Environmental Protection," Friedman says. "It is also   
   important to know that manganese cannot be removed by boiling the water,   
   and many household filters are not effective for removing manganese from   
   water," she adds. "Residents should only use filters that are capable   
   of removing manganese, and the filtration units should clearly state   
   this capability."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Dietary_Supplements_and_Minerals # Health_Policy #   
                   Workplace_Health # Public_Health_Education   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Water # Drought_Research # Environmental_Issues #   
                   Sustainability   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Heavy_metals o Ozone o Micronutrient o   
             Attribution_of_recent_climate_change o Water_purification o   
             Excitotoxicity_and_cell_damage o Detox_diet o Ice_sheet   
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
    Print   
      
    Email   
      
    Share   
   ==========================================================================   
   ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 ****   
   *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour   
   ==========================================================================   
       * Six_Foods_to_Boost_Cardiovascular_Health   
       * Cystic_Fibrosis:_Lasting_Improvement *   
       Artificial_Cells_Demonstrate_That_'Life_...   
      
       * Advice_to_Limit_High-Fat_Dairy_Foods_Challenged   
       * First_Snapshots_of_Fermion_Pairs *   
       Why_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali;_No_Tigers_in_Australia   
       * New_Route_for_Treating_Cancer:_Chromosomes *   
       Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found:_Prehistoric_Tools   
       * Astonishing_Secrets_of_Tunicate_Origins *   
       Most_Distant_Active_Supermassive_Black_Hole   
      
   Trending Topics this week   
   ==========================================================================   
   PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Endangered_Plants Botany Food EARTH_&_CLIMATE   
   Environmental_Policy Sustainability Hazardous_Waste FOSSILS_&_RUINS   
   Fossils Early_Mammals Early_Climate   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Strange & Offbeat   
   ==========================================================================   
   PLANTS_&_ANIMALS   
   Bees_Make_Decisions_Better_and_Faster_Than_We_Do,_for_the_Things_That_Matter_to   
   Them   
   These_Lollipops_Could_'Sweeten'_Diagnostic_Testing_for_Kids_and_Adults_Alike   
   Why_There_Are_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali_(and_No_Tigers_in_Australia)   
   EARTH_&_CLIMATE   
   Turning_Old_Maps_Into_3D_Digital_Models_of_Lost_Neighborhoods   
   Squash_Bugs_Are_Attracted_to_and_Eat_Each_Other's_Poop_to_Stock_Their   
   Microbiome How_Urea_May_Have_Been_the_Gateway_to_Life FOSSILS_&_RUINS   
   Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found_on_Rare_Ice_Age_Site_in_Kent,_UK   
   Fossils_Reveal_How_Ancient_Birds_Molted_Their_Feathers_--_Which_Could_Help   
   Explain_Why_Ancestors_of_Modern_Birds_Survived_When_All_the_Other_Dinosaurs   
   Died Apex_Predator_of_the_Cambrian_Likely_Sought_Soft_Over_Crunchy_Prey   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Boston_University_School_of_Public_Health. Original written by Jillian   
   McKoy. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Alexa Friedman, Elena Boselli, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger,   
      Wendy Heiger-   
         Bernays, Paige Brochu, Mayah Burgess, Samantha Schildroth, Allegra   
         Denehy, Timothy Downs, Ian Papautsky, Birgit Clauss Henn. Manganese   
         in residential drinking water from a community-initiated case   
         study in Massachusetts. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental   
         Epidemiology, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41370-023-00563-9   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710180506.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 19 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45 5075/35   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426