Southwestern correctional facilities' drinking water puts inmate health at risk

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/cums-scf062220.php


News Release 22-Jun-2020
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health


The first nationwide analysis of drinking water quality in United States correctional facilities found average arsenic concentrations in drinking water in Southwestern United States correctional facilities were twice as high as average arsenic concentrations in other Southwest community drinking water systems. More than a quarter of correctional facilities in the Southwest reported average arsenic levels exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 10 μg/L maximum contaminant level.

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Disparities and injustices in water quality may contribute to the excess burden of disease experienced by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. Approximately 2.2 million people, disproportionately Black and low-income men, are incarcerated in the U.S. Incarcerated populations are at elevated risk for several chronic diseases that are associated with chronic low-to moderate-arsenic exposure, including hypertension and diabetes.

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