17. Arsenic and Water Quality Challenges in South America

The presence of arsenic in soils and water is a threat to public health and agricultural activities because this toxic element poses contamination risks to plants, animals, and humans. Central Argentina (northern area of department of Union, province of Córdoba) and northern Chile, (El Loa, II Region de Antofagasta) are two of the areas most affected in the world and are representative of the arsenic contamination problem in arid and semiarid regions in South America. In both areas, arsenic levels in water are above the World Health Organization guidelines for human consumption (10 μg/L), and health effects in both sites have different manifestations. Nevertheless, the general trend in epidemiological studies is to find a relationship between chronic arsenic ingestion and cancer occurrence. Scarce data are available in most regions of South America. Environmental monitoring is not a common practice in many countries and should be implemented to verify that current environmental quality norms are met, carry out baseline studies to obtain the necessary data for developing contamination control tools, and estimate the population’s exposure to arsenic. Conveying information to the population about arsenic water contamination and possible solutions is central to overcoming the problem.