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Jun 26, 2025, 3:39 PM ET

Study: Drinking water with even low levels of arsenic may endanger preborn lives

Issues·By Michaela Estruth

Drinking water with even low levels of arsenic may pose health risks to preborn children, including the risk of early labor and reduced weight at birth, according to a recent study from Columbia University.

Key Takeaways:

The study, published on JAMA Network, surveyed nearly 14,000 moms — whom the study called “birthing parents.”
These parents included women of various ethnicities from 35 cohorts in the National Institutes of Health’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Newsweek reported.
Researchers found the consumption of drinking water with low arsenic levels correlated to:
- preterm birth at less than 37 weeks
- low birth weight, at less than 2500 grams (roughly 5.5 pounds)
- small for gestational age (SGA) babies.

The Details:

The Columbia University study reportedly aimed to “evaluate the association between estimated prenatal public drinking water arsenic concentrations and birth outcomes in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.”

The study predicted that arsenic poisoning in preborn children may cause future health issues for the child in addition to onset of early labor and low birth weights, which “are important predictors of infant mortality and morbidity across the lifespan.”

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The U.S. federal standard maximum contaminant level of arsenic permitted in drinking water is 10 parts per billion (ppb) or 10.00 μg/L, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to the EPA, arsenic is an inorganic, semi-metal periodic element that is tasteless and odorless. It enters drinking water both from natural earth deposits and from agricultural and industrial practices.

Of the participants, 53.1% drank water with undetectable (<0.35 μg/L) arsenic levels. The arsenic level of 0.35 to 1.00 μg/L appeared in 25.2% of participants’ water. More than 1.00 μg/L levels of arsenic occurred in 21.7% of participants. Only 236 participants, 1.7%, drank water with arsenic levels more than 5.00 μg/L.

The authors stated:

In adjusted flexible cubic spline models, higher prenatal public water arsenic was associated with lower birth weight, reduced birth weight–for–gestational age z score, and a higher risk of low birth weight even at concentrations less than 5.00 μg/L.

This is a much smaller concentration than current levels of arsenic permitted in drinking water. Researchers noted that current allowed EPA levels are “inadequately protective of adverse birth outcomes.”

Commentary:

The study revealed further threats to not only those consuming arsenic but also to preborn children.

“Most U.S. residents rely on public drinking water, and our findings suggest that further reducing arsenic in public water systems could be an important step to improve infant health across the country,” Anne Nigra, PhD, assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia Mailman School, told Columbia News. “Even low levels of arsenic in public drinking water were associated with low birthweight and other adverse birth outcomes in U.S. infants.”

“Public drinking water contaminants are directly relevant for child health and are readily modifiable by federal regulatory action, yet they remain underappreciated and understudied in the environmental epidemiology literature,” researchers of the study concluded. “The findings suggest that further reducing the maximum contaminant level for arsenic may decrease the number of infants with low birth weight in the US.”

The Bottom Line:

The EPA may need to consider lowering acceptable arsenic levels in drinking water, given research showing that much lower levels still result in adverse outcomes. Researchers suggested, “Additional federal financial, technical, and managerial support is urgently needed to reduce arsenic concentrations in regulated public drinking water systems, many of which continue to exceed the EPA MCL of 10 μg/L.”

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