America's Drinking Water is Changing How Babies Are Being Born: Study
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Even low levels of arsenic in U.S. public drinking water may increase the risk of below average birth weight and other adverse birth outcomes, says a new national study led by researchers at Columbia University.
The findings, drawn from nearly 14,000 pregnancies across 35 cohort sites participating in the National Institutes of Health's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, were published on the medical journal site JAMA Network earlier this week.
"It is concerning, but what really stands out as major concern from this study is that no exposure level seems truly safe during pregnancy," Vasilis Vasiliou, chair and professor of environmental health sciences at Yale School of Public Health, told Newsweek.
Newsweek has contacted the EPA via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The research addresses growing concerns about the adequacy of U.S. drinking water safety standards, particularly for vulnerable populations. The findings suggest that health risks may occur from exposure below levels currently considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) arsenic limit that was determined in 2001.
The study also said that low birth weight and preterm birth are "important predictors of infant mortality and morbidity across the life span," highlighting that low-level exposure to arsenic in drinking water could have prolonged and even fatal impacts.
File photo: a young girl drinks some water from a bottle.
File photo: a young girl drinks some water from a bottle.
Nicolas Messyasz/Sipa via AP
What To Know
The study found that prenatal exposure to arsenic—even below the current federal standard of 10 micrograms per liter—was linked to a higher likelihood of babies being born preterm, with lower birth weights, or smaller than expected for their gestational age.
Preterm birth was noted when a baby had a gestational age of less than 37 weeks, and low birth weight was identified as a weight of less than 2500 grams, or 2.5 kilograms.
Both outcomes were observed across multiple racial and ethnic groups, including White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander families.
The authors noted that the risk of low birth weight following prenatal exposure to arsenic was higher among White, Black and Hispanic/Latino birthing parents.
"Arsenic's toxicity during pregnancy is multifactorial, involving oxidative stress, epigenetic disruption, placental toxicity, immune dysregulation, and hormonal interference—all of which can independently or jointly lead to low birth weight, preterm birth, and developmental programming of chronic disease," Vasiliou told Newsweek.
In 2001, the EPA announced its 10 micrograms per liter standard for arsenic. At the time, the EPA Administrator, Christine Todd Whitman, stated that "the 10 ppb protects public health based on the best available science and ensures that the cost of the standard is achievable."
However, some states, such as New Jersey and New Hampshire, have since enacted stricter limits of 5 micrograms per liter.
"Arsenic is released from rocks and soil into groundwater, which then feeds into municipal supplies," Vasiliou said.
He added that regions like the Southwest, parts of New England, Minnesota, and Wisconsin "are known for elevated natural levels."
Human activities like mining, agriculture, and industrial processes "can raise arsenic levels in nearby water systems," he said.
What People Are Saying
Vasilis Vasiliou, chair and professor of environmental health sciences at Yale School of Public Health, told Newsweek: "I believe that based on this, the EPA should consider lowering the maximum contaminant level below 10 µg/L. The authors explicitly recommend this as a way to help reduce low‑birth weight rates. More frequent testing of public water systems, especially in high‑risk locales, along with investment in treatment technologies, for example coagulation, adsorption, ion exchange, will be essential. Communities with elevated but sub-limit arsenic should be informed about risks, and pregnant people encouraged to use alternative water sources or filtration. I believe that we should continue monitoring birth outcomes in relationship to low-dose arsenic exposure and refine risk estimates across different demographics."
He added: "Arsenic isn't the only chemical of concern in tap water; I can list PFAS, 2,4-dioxane and other emerging chemical contaminants. Therefore, pregnant people often face multiple low-level exposures. Even small reductions in one contaminant can yield meaningful health improvements when cumulative."
What Happens Next
The study's authors urged for further research to dissect the combined influence of arsenic and other social determinants of health. They also stressed the importance of reviewing legacy contaminants like arsenic and updating health-based water safety standards at both federal and state levels.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
China's Fungus—A Biological Weapons Attack on America's Food Supply?
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. This month, three Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling biological agents into the United States. The attempts could be part of a biological weapons attack on America's farms and ranches. On June 3, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced that Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, had been charged with conspiracy, smuggling, false statements, and visa fraud. Jian was arrested for smuggling Fusarium graminearum, a "potential agroterrorism weapon" that causes "head blight." The fungal disease hits wheat, barley, maize, and rice and "is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year." In humans and livestock, head blight causes vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects. A tractor and planting implement creates a dust cloud while planting a wheat field in the fertile farm fields of Idaho. A tractor and planting implement creates a dust cloud while planting a wheat field in the fertile farm fields of Idaho. Getty Images Their actions, according to U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr., represented "the gravest national security concerns." Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office, said the pathogens "posed an imminent threat to public safety." Then on June 9, Michigan's Eastern District announced that it had charged Chinese citizen Chengxuan Han with smuggling "biological materials" and making false statements. The materials, it appears, related to round worms. So why were Jian, Liu, and Han importing pathogens? "Fusarium graminearum is a common pathogen affecting crops in China, and numerous Chinese research institutes, including the Institute of Rice Biology at Zhejiang University, have been actively studying it," Xiaoxu Sean Lin, a former lab director of the viral disease branch of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, told Newsweek. "The FBI confiscated samples labeled 'ARP9,' an actin-related gene known to influence chromatin remodeling and gene transcription. This suggests the samples were genetically modified strains of Fusarium graminearum." "This raises a critical biosafety question," Lin noted. "Were these modified strains designed to enhance infectivity or pesticide resistance?" The pair may have intended, Lin said, "to perform field testing with these modified fungal strains on university-owned agricultural land." And perhaps they were intending to develop one or more modified strains of head blight to be introduced on farmland or ranchland elsewhere. Zunyong Liu was affiliated with Zhejiang University, where he conducted research on Fusarium graminearum. That institution, Lin said, has a well-documented collaboration with the People's Liberation Army. As he pointed out, "China's military-civil fusion strategy makes it reasonable to speculate about military interest in these genetically modified pathogens, which are potentially related to biological warfare or agroterrorism." Lin said research on such organisms would require special permits from both the University of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jian and Liu, as experienced researchers, would have known that. "If the intent was purely academic," Lin asked, "why did the researchers not pursue the legal, regulated channels for pathogen transfer?" The fact that Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu would risk their careers by smuggling a known pathogen is a factor suggesting malign intent, especially given their relations with the Communist Party—Jian is a member—and their probable connections with military research at their home institutions in China. U.S. Attorney Gorgon said Chengxuan Han's smuggling was part of "an alarming pattern." Brandon Weichert, author of Biohacked: China's Race to Control Life, agreed, telling Newsweek, "The twin incidents are unlikely to be coincidental and certainly part of a troubling series of pathogen transfers to and from Chinese research institutions in recent years." Lin believed Han's affiliation with Huazhong University of Science and Technology is a warning sign because that institution is also involved in military-civil fusion programs. "Questions about PLA involvement are warranted," Lin said. "Biological warfare is a strategic 'commanding height' in Chinese military doctrine." As Weichert told this publication, "These agents can be weapons of mass destruction and their introduction into the United States could very well have been preparation for a biological weapons attack." The Chinese attempts this year to smuggle pathogens may be only the latest incidents in a Chinese campaign to bring down American agriculture. China, I believe, has been trying to plant invasive species in America since at least 2020. That year, Americans in all 50 states received seeds unsolicited from China. Early this year, Temu, the online Chinese retailer, was caught sending seeds to the U.S. unsolicited. In one case, a Chinese party sent unsolicited both seeds and an unidentified liquid. "We can expect many more attempts at sabotaging our food supply both to damage our economy and cause chaos," Weichert said. Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America and The Coming Collapse of China. Follow him on X @GordonGChang. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
What's making Miami sick? Are there cures? Take a look
Health Care What's making Miami sick? Are there cures? Take a look This collection of stories examines health challenges facing Miami and potential responses to the issues. One article discusses the impact of Miami's chlorinated tap water on skin health, offering alternatives like filtered showerheads and micellar water. Another highlights the rise of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness prevalent in Florida, urging summer travelers to take preventive measures to avoid bites. A separate report focuses on Alzheimer's research at the University of Miami, where researchers work on understanding the disease's prevalence in Hispanic communities. In a related account, Miami-Dade leaders push for police reform in handling incidents involving mental illness, aiming to prevent tragic outcomes. Read the stories below. NO. 1: IS TAP WATER IRRITATING YOUR SKIN? HERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS FOR WASHING Tap water contains chlorine and other minerals that can hurt your skin. | Published October 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by Leslie Baumann, M.D. No image found A caretaker, center, offers cafecito to Asustina Valdes Cabrera, left, while she is tested by UHealth medical researcher Dr. Katrina Celis, right, as part of an Alzheimer study during a community outreach event for the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics where UM researchers performed tests, enrolled new participants and took blood samples to a new Biorespository opening at UHealth's campus, at Hora Feliz Adult Day Care on Thursday, January 16, 2025, in Hialeah, Fla. By D.A. Varela NO. 2: HOW A UM LAB IS UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF THE BRAIN. IT STARTS WITH A PERSONAL MESSAGE What to know about the visits. | Published January 24, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante Miami Florida, June 17, 2024 - Gamaly Hollis looks back to her son's grave after she carefully cleaned it. Gamaly Hollis is the mother of Richard Hollis, a young man who was killed by the police on June 15, 2022. By Jose Iglesias NO. 3: FATAL SHOOTING PROMPTS MOVE FOR MIAMI-DADE TO REFORM HOW POLICE HANDLE MENTAL ILLNESS CALLS We have huge challenges with people who have mental illness,' says Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez. | Published January 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Carol Marbin Miller Linda Robertson No image found Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread dengue to people through bites. NO. 4: DENGUE FEVER ON THE RISE. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOSQUITO-BORNE ILLNESS IN FLORIDA Puerto Rico has recorded at least 1,012 cases of dengue so far in 2025, followed by Florida, 50, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has 40 recorded cases. | Published March 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
New IVF Tool Allows Parents To Screen Genetics of Embryos: Is It Ethical?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new tool allows parents undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) to screen their embryos for health issues, but is it ethical? Genetic disease is believed to be linked to 41 percent of U.S. infants' deaths, while more than 2 million children in the country have a genetic condition. U.S.-based company Nucleus is offering people having IVF the chance to select their embryos by using software that highlights various genetic markers linked to health. Technology that tries to prevent genetic diseases like sickle cell disease, where patients have unusually shaped red blood cells, is already in use. Newsweek/Getty Images/Newsweek/Getty Images "This type of selection of specific embryos as a result of IVF is already occurring in sickle cell care," Dr. Crawford Strunk, vice chief medical officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, told Newsweek. Parents are able to choose an embryo which tests negative for sickle cell disease, he said, and from which stem cells can also be taken for transplant to help cure children with the condition. However, two experts raised concern over embryo selection, with one telling Newsweek that there are "deeply troubling ethical aspects" of IVF. Preventing Genetic Disease and Improving Embryo Health Nucleus Embryo is described as "the first genetic optimization software that helps parents pursuing IVF see and understand the complete genetic profile of each of their embryos." With the tool, users can check for more than 1,000 traits and conditions, from single gene disorders like cystic fibrosis to complex conditions like heart disease and cancer risks, and mental health conditions like anxiety and ADHD, the company's CEO Kian Sadeghi told Newsweek. The technology is able to do this by not only detecting specific genetic markers for certain diseases but by also calculating polygenic scores, which combine up to a million genetic markers into a single number to determine someone's genetic predisposition for a condition or trait. This includes coronary artery disease, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and more. "These integrated models further enable Nucleus to identify risk in embryos and adults as accurately as possible," Jerry Lanchbury, a member of Nucleus' scientific advisory board, told Newsweek. According to a 2023 study by Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, the deaths of five out of seven infants from genetic disease could have been prevented had "rapid, diagnostic [whole genome sequencing] been performed at the time of symptom onset or intensive care unit admission." In the U.K., whole genome sequencing has been brought in as a routine part of medical care, in order to increase "early detection and treatment of high-risk conditions." "The power of genetic prediction also goes beyond rare diseases. Genetic testing can lead to lifesaving preventive care," Lanchbury said. He added that genetic instances of high cholesterol, breast cancer and colon cancer cause a substantial number of deaths in the U.S. every year, with more than 3 million cases contributing to over 750,000 deaths per year. "Each of these conditions are preventable," he said. Lanchbury also said that "the environment, parenting and chance play profound roles in how genetic predispositions manifest," so Nucleus ranks its predictions by strength so that parents can understand the range of likely outcomes for their embryos. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. representative for Florida, told Newsweek that IVF can be a "godsend" for those with a BRCA gene mutation—which can increase the risk of breast cancer in women by 80 percent, Lanchbury said. A breast cancer survivor herself, Wasserman Schultz added that IVF treatment "can help end generational genetic cycles of deadly disease in a family's future." Technology that can test for a BRCA gene mutation in embryos and determine which embryos should be implanted as a result is "one of many incredible, life-saving benefits of genetic research," she said. However, while Sadeghi told Newsweek that "people have the right to genetically optimize their children," various groups and experts say the technology raises a number of ethical questions. A photo of a Nucleus kit, used to screen embryos for genetic conditions. A photo of a Nucleus kit, used to screen embryos for genetic conditions. Uncredited/Nucleus Choosing Embryos Based on Characteristics While giving parents the opportunity to select their embryos based on a number of traits and conditions could help to reduce the prevalence of genetic disease, it could also allow them to make their choices based on other factors. "If we are talking about screening and selecting certain human embryos over others based on a host of characteristics and risks, then we are not talking about preventing harm to future human beings but making a choice as to which human lives are most worth living," Jason Thacker, assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Southern Seminary and Boyce College, told Newsweek. He added that from the very moment of fertilization, "a unique human being is made which has inherent dignity, value and rights." "This is one of the deeply troubling ethical aspects of IVF in general, where children are often treated as mere commodities and not fully human in the embryonic stage," he said. He added that while modifying genes to prevent disease "may have some tangible benefits worth cautiously pursuing," it is also important to be aware of how those decisions will affect the child and subsequent generations. There has also been some concern raised about the implications of parents selecting embryos with a higher IQ screening. "Parents can select for an average difference of 2.5 IQ points," Sadeghi told Newsweek. However, intelligence has been found to be linked with schizophrenia, ADHD, OCD, Alzheimer's disease and autism, he added. "When you analyze genes for disease risk, you're also uncovering insights into traits, since both share a common genetic foundation," Sadeghi said. "What matters most to us is helping parents understand these genetic connections—so they can make informed choices based on what matters most to them." Thacker, however, warned that this technology was leading society into territory where "we will not always be able to accurately predict the downstream effects of our biomedical decisions, and we must be extremely cautious and seek wisdom as we go about techniques that affect real human lives—both in the embryonic stage, at birth and into future generations." A photo of a computer screen showing the results from an embryo assessment done by the company Nucleus. A photo of a computer screen showing the results from an embryo assessment done by the company Nucleus. Uncredited/Nucleus IVF Treatment and Unused Embryos Some concern, particularly from religious groups, has been raised over the fact that this technology could result in unused embryos being destroyed. According to calculations by the Catholic television network EWTN, more embryos are likely destroyed during IVF treatment than via abortion each year. Catholic belief determines a new human life begins at the point of conception or fertilization, meaning the loss of these embryos equates to a loss of human life, making IVF itself an ethical issue. "IVF is morally condemned because it replaces, rather than assists, the sexual act of the couple in conceiving children and creates human life in a lab where the embryos are easily mistreated and even killed," Joseph Meaney, a past president and current senior fellow of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told Newsweek. Meaney said gene therapy for embryos could be ethical as long as it was done to "treat or cure a genetic or medical defect." However, "It is not ethically acceptable to make genetic modifications to normal human beings with the intention of enhancement—defined as trying to create better than healthy human capacity," Meaney said, pointing to those who may wish to select embryos based on higher intelligence for example. Aware of these concerns, Sadeghi told Newsweek that Nucleus intends to overcome the issues "openly, transparently, and always guided by individual choice." "Everything we do is guided on the principle of responsible use of modern genomic science, and reproductive freedom," he added. Sadeghi said that until now, this sort of technology "has been discussed only behind closed doors—not in public." This means that Americans now have the opportunity to "listen to each other, hear each other out, and use this information to establish their views to ensure the insight Nucleus Embryo can provide is put to good use."
