To our knowledge, the iron in your well water ought not cause a problem for the Arsenic Quick Test Kit.

We have heard of only one common well water component that causes know interference with the Arsenic Quick line of water test kits: Hydrogen Sulfide.

Arsenic Quick test kits eliminate (negate the effects of) lower amounts of hydrogen sulfide in a water sample but hydrogen sulfide levels in excess of 2 mg/L (ppm) will interfere with testing.

Unsure if your water contains elevated levels of dissolved hydrogen sulfide?  The WaterWorks Hydrogen Sulfide Low Range test kit detects levels from 0.3 up to 2.0 mg/L (ppm).

As for which Arsenic Quick Test Kit to choose, we suggest opting for one with a wide detection range (i.e. one that starts below the EPA action level of 10ppb and can also detect levels much higher than 10ppb).  For most people looking to get a general feel for how much, if any, arsenic their water contains, the original Arsenic Quick Test Kit (packaged as 2 test, 5 test and 100 test versions) works quite well.

Water Test Kit Store carries the Arsenic Quick brand of arsenic testing products which works quite well for detecting levels of free dissolved arsenic in drinking water... but we do not know how well they would work when used to test non-water samples.

Several factors may play a part in determining whether or not the Arsenic Quick Test Kits will work in your suggested application:

• The concentration of arsenic may be too low or too high for the test kit to detect.
• Ingredients in the sample may cause a more 'violent' bubbling than water and result in the test area on the suspended test pad getting wet.  If the pad gets wet, the test becomes invalid.
• The sample may contain organically bound arsenic and the test kit cannot detect organically bound arsenic.

To sum all that up, we do not know if the test kit we carry will work for Orgain or any type of sample other than water (or wood).

The cost of an Arsenic Quick Test Kit varies depending upon the levels of detection required for the testing and the number of tests in the kit. For a school project we think something like the Arsenic Quick 5's Kit may work well since it will allow your daughter to test 5 different samples of water and it typically provides an adequate detection range for most residential water sources.

On the matter of testing foods for arsenic, we do not have much information to share because we have not tried an experiments using foods. In theory the kits should work using food in the same manner as they do wood but a few potential problems come to mind:

1) There's no way to determine the expected arsenic levels in other materials so the kit may lack the appropriate detection range to pick up traces of arsenic if present.

2) Since the Arsenic Quick Test Kits rely on test pad areas that change color to indicate concentrations of arsenic in samples, violent reactions where colored samples splatter up on test pad areas would invalidate any results obtained.

For additional (or more detailed) information on the Arsenic Quick Test Kits and their capabilities, feel free to contact us, again, or you may always contact the manufacturer directly (Industrial Test Systems, Inc.).

My son has recently been diagnosed with extreme arsenic levels and parasites…

Our doctor feels it may be from our water. We are in the suburbs, so have city water.

I have had health problems and so have our animals for a while now. I am wondering if our water is the cause.

I see a test for arsenic. Is there a test I can get to test for parasites in our water?

I would truly appreciate any information you could share with me!

Thank you!

Good morning, Michele, and thank you for your inquiry.

From what you described we would agree that your water may have something to do with the health problems you described in your son, your animals, and yourself. Prolonged exposure to a drinking water contaminant like arsenic can result in the appearance of a wide range of symptoms… and since your son has already tested ‘high’ for arsenic, it definitely stands to reason that you would want to test for the presence of dissolved arsenic in your water.

Simple test kits for arsenic like the Arsenic Quick test kits we carry allow home and business owners to readily and easily test for the presence of dissolved arsenic in their drinking water.

Regarding the parasites doctors found in your son’s body, well, the fact that you have city/tap water makes the likelihood of those parasites coming from the faucet quite low, but not impossible. Usually unwanted parasites get filtered out and/or neutralized via chemical or other process at a water system’s water treatment facility.

No at-home test kits exist for parasites (that we know about) so if you wish to test for parasites you will need to contact your local Health Department for a list of certified water testing laboratories and contract with one to come out, take a sample (or samples), get the sample(s) back to the lab quickly, and perform testing specifically for parasites.

A couple things to remember when it comes to parasites:

• A person can pick up unwanted parasites from sources other than drinking water. Foods may carry parasites and sometimes people may even pick certain types of parasites from contact with contaminated dirt, soil, mud, etc.
   
• Depending upon the parasite, some have the ability to exist in a host body for quite a while before the host shows any signs of infection/infestation.
   

By any chance did the doctor tell you what type of parasites he/she found in your son? That may help you to narrow down your list of ways in which your son became infected.

Moral of the story?

Sometimes a preliminary round of testing (this time unfortunately on a young boy) results in a need for more testing (this time on the water and possibly other things) before a solution becomes available. With that said, if after a round of testing you still have unanswered questions, keep testing until you find thee answers you need.

Your health and the health of those around you may depend on the answers you eventually find and solutions you implement as a result of those answers!

Testing of water from several wells showed higher than ‘normal’ amounts of sodium, sulfates, hardness and… dissolved arsenic.

DURHAM — Traces of arsenic in some of the town’s wells have prompted the Department of Health to encouraging residents to test their water, according to a press release posted on the department’s website.

People who live or work around Brewster Elementary School are advised to have their water tested within the next three to six weeks. The department is also asking residents to fill out and submit a report — also on the department’s website — so officials can determine the extent of contamination.

Arsenic, which causes health problems like skin discoloration (melanosis), hardening of the skin (keratosis) and cancer, can contaminate groundwater naturally and through human activities such as mining. It can also come from pesticides and fertilizers that contain arsenic. ( source )

Health officials went on to say that although certain area wells did show elevated levels of arsenic contamination, people do not need to get alarmed just yet. They do not have enough test data to reach any firm conclusions and would like the private well owners to lend a hand and by conducting testing and reporting the results via a form currently available on the Durham Department of Health web site.

For those not aware of the dangers arsenic in drinking water may pose, take a look at some of the prior articles posted on this site:

• What is Arsenic and Can It Harm You?
   
• Study: Arsenic in Water and Diabetes
   
• Study: Exposure to Low Levels of Arsenic Lowers Influenza Resistance

Can the general public perform arsenic testing on its own safely?

Absolutely. The Arsenic Quick™ line of arsenic in water test kits offers allows users to quickly and accurately test for dissolved arsenic (As3 & As5) in drinking water in as little as 12 minutes.

Below you will find links to the three most popular Arsenic Quick™ test kits offered in our Water Test Kit Store:

For more information on Arsenic Quick Test Kits, take a look in the Arsenic Testing section of our Water Test Kit Store.

We have repeatedly posted information about arsenic remediation systems for residential and small commercial applications, but what about the ‘big boys/girls’ who have arsenic in their water? What about them?

Fear not, because we recently learned that Filter Water a leading retailer of water testing, water filtration and drinking water contaminant elimination equipment has started carrying a line of arsenic removal filters designed specifically for customers whose water requirements range from 15 to 288 gallons per minute (GPM).

A few words about arsenic levels

Based upon a standard dating back to 1942, the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) enacted legislation that required water systems to make sure arsenic levels did not exceed 50 ppb (parts per billion). More recently, however, health experts and other professionals questioned the safety of water containing 50 ppb dissolved arsenic and in 2001 the USEPA dropped the maximum contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water to 10 ppb.

The debate over what defines a ‘safe’ arsenic level in drinking water will come up again, most likely, because some health officials warn that levels above 3 ppb pose a credible danger to humans.

Need to test for arsenic in water?

For most field/home water testing applications the Arsenic Quick line of water test kits work very well. They have the shorter testing times, safer reagents and greater detection ranges than any comparable test kit on the market.

For information on these kits, visit ArsenicQuick.Com and/or Arsenic-Test-Kit.Com

A quick look at the arsenic map on Arsenic-Test-Kit.Com will show you that arsenic can appear in groundwater all across the Continental United States and in some areas naturally occurring arsenic levels in ground water greatly exceed the 10 ppb (parts per billion) limit set forth by the USEPA several years ago.

Want to know if your drinking or well water contains dissolved arsenic in concentrations greater then recommended by the USEPA? At-home test kits such as the Arsenic Quick Test Kits for Drinking Water work well as a field screening tool, but the final word ought to come from a certified water testing lab such as National Testing Labs… or you can find lists of certified water testing labs in your state here.

As more and more people become aware of the fact that levels of arsenic in well water can fluctuate with the changing of seasons, after periods of heavy rain and in periods of drought, the demand for arsenic removal systems for residential and commercial use continues to rise.

One of the most common methods of arsenic removal requires the use of a specific type of water filter media, an example of which is a nano-particle based selective iron oxide resin media designed to remove arsenic (arsenate and arsenite) from water.

A quality arsenic removal resin of that nature will have passed all testing and quality requirements outlined in the NSF/ANSI 61 standard.

Below you will find links locations on www.ArsenicQuick.com which contain information about and links to Arsenic Quick™ test kits offered by (3) three different
online merchants: Filters Fast, Filter Water and Test Products.

• Arsenic Quick™ at FilterWater.Com
• Arsenic Quick™ at FiltersFast.Com
• Arsenic Quick™ at TestProducts.Com

   Arsenic Quick™ at FilterWater.Com

Arsenic Quick™ Test Kit 100 Tests

Arsenic Quick™ Test Mini-Kit 2 Tests

   Arsenic Quick™ at FiltersFast.Com

Arsenic Quick™ Test Kit 2 Tests

Arsenic Quick™ Test Kit 100 Tests

   Arsenic Quick™ at TestProducts.Com

Part Number: 481297-2 Arsenic Quick — 2 Tests	Part Number: 481298 Arsenic Quick — 300 Tests	Part Number: 481300 Arsenic Quick — 5 Tests
Part Number: 481396-2 Arsenic Quick — 2 Tests	Part Number: 481396-5 Arsenic Quick — 5 Tests	Part Number: 481301-5 Arsenic Quick — 5 Tests
Part Number: 481303 Arsenic Quick — 50 Tests	Part Number: 481303-5 Arsenic Quick — 5 Tests	Part Number: 481297-I Arsenic Quick — 50 Tests

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2010/01/14/arsenic-quick-web-site-launched-www-arsenicquick-com/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2009/11/09/arsenic-testing-in-michigan/ http://watertestingblog.com/2009/11/09/arsenic-testing-in-michigan/#respond Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:14:18 +0000 http://watertestingblog.com/?p=706 We recently came across an article on a TV news station’s web site describing how the Michigan news station had decided to take sample of the local drinking water to a water testing laboratory for testing.

According to the article, residents in the area have a particular interest in finding out if the arsenic levels in their drinking water falls within acceptable Federal guidelines. Apparently local arsenic levels had typically come in around 10ppb to 12ppb and although fine when the EPA deemed arsenic levels below 50ppb acceptable, the EPA’s lowering of the acceptable limit for arsenic in drinking water to 10ppb a few years ago meant some local water systems needed to install remediation devices in order to pass muster.

Now residents want to know if those arsenic removal devices work as planned and ultimately they want to know if they have ‘safe’ water to drink.

MIDLAND, BAY CITY, FLINT, HOWELL — The concerns have been everywhere when it comes to water quality. How clean is the water you cook with and drink? Residents along the Saginaw Bay have long been concerned that river dredging might stir up sediment, leading to water contamination. Over the last five years, Genesee County residents have been concerned over high arsenic levels. One way or another, water quality affects your life.

Most drinking water goes through some form of treatment by the time it reaches your faucet. However, changes in allowable arsenic levels through the years, and the potential for other elements to go undetected led us to see what may be in your drinking water.

NBC25 collected samples from a range of MidMichigan areas including Bay City, Midland and Flint. We took those samples to Water Tech Inc. in Howell to see what you may be putting in your body. ( source )

Unfortunately for us, the news station required its web site visitors to ‘tune in tonight’ for the results of the arsenic testing… and we don’t live in Michigan so we cannot tune in as they suggested. We can, however, make suggestions as to how homeowners can perform simple, at-home testing for arsenic in their drinking water. Keep in mind, though, that no at-home test kit for arsenic should ever take the place water analysis by a certified water testing laboratory.

Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.010, 0.025, 0.050, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 ppb/cm² (IT-487928) Perform 300 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	IT-487928
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 20 & >20 ppb (481300-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481300-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-2) Perform 2 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-2
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (481303) Perform 50 Tests, Results in 14 Minutes	481303
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (481303-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 14 Minutes	481303-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 40, 45 & >50 ppb (481297-2) Perform 2 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481297-2
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 40, 45 & >50 ppb (481297-I) Perform 50 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481297-I

As an example,

Newdale is facing drinking water quality issues because of arsenic and fluoride levels in the water supply that do not meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water quality standards.

…

Testing over the past several years showed average arsenic levels at 10.8 parts per billion, and the level has been as high as 15 parts per billion.

The city’s level of fluoride in the water supply has consistently averaged about 4.8 parts per million over the last several years.

The state DEQ has ranked Newdale as the first priority in the state for drinking water improvements. ( source )

Efforts to remedy the solution have begun in Newdale and many other areas but the fact remains that many people still consume levels of fluoride and arsenic considered dangerous by health officials.

People living in smaller communities served by older water systems and well ought to consider testing their water periodically for things such as bacteria, arsenic and other critical water parameters. Smaller towns have smaller budgets and remediation for arsenic costs a lot of money. Sometimes a lot more money than a small town can afford.

Thankfully, though, State and Federal agencies across the country have recognized smaller communities’ needs for assistance when it comes to cleaning up their drinking water and made funding available for that purpose.

To take advantage of an offer of loan money from the state of Idaho with federal stimulus funds, the Newdale City Council voted on June 24 to see if the project could be approved through judicial confirmation, a quicker process than a bond election.

…

In his finding of fact and conclusions of law Moeller wrote: “The Idaho Supreme Court has held that the impact of a proposed expenditure on public safety is fundamental to the determination of whether a project is necessary. … If the expense is necessary to protect the health and safety of the inhabitants of the municipality, it is both ‘ordinary and necessary.'” ( source )

As usual, we suggest that anyone suspecting life-threatening drinking water contamination have their water tested by a certifed water testing laboratory. For routine testing, though, one can use at-home drinking water test kits such as the Water Quality Test Kit or the WaterSafe All-In-One Test Kit.

For people interested in testing their drinking water for arsenic, we suggest using one of the Arsenic Quick Test Kits. Below we have listed some of their smaller, more affordable field arsenic test kits.

Arsenic in Water Test Kit <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (481303-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 14 Minutes	481303-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 20 & >20 ppb (481300-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481300-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-2) Perform 2 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-2

More on Arsenic and Testing for Arsenic:

• Arsenic in Upstate NY Wells
• Testing Arsenic in Salt/Brackish Water
• Arsenic Exposure Linked to Lower Influenza Resistance
• Testing for Arsenic in Wood and on Playgrounds
• Possible Link Between Arsenic Exposure and Diabetes

More on Fluoride and Fluoride Testing:

• Fluoride Exposure Linked to Sperm Damage
• Removing Fluoride From Drinking Water
• Why Test for Fluoride in Drinking Water
• Fluoride in Drinking Water Facts
• Filters to Remove Fluoride From Drinking Water