A new report issued by the National Academy of Sciences reveals that even small amounts of arsenic in drinking water can cause lung and bladder cancer. These new results will likely lead to new drinking water standards. Shortly before leaving office, President Bill Clinton passed a new, strict drinking water standard with regard to arsenic. However, President Bush repealed the new rule, citing inadequate evidence and the prohibitively high cost of implementing the standard.

The results of the latest study have stunned scientists. The impact of the slightest amount of arsenic in drinking water is now much worse than previously thought.

The report establishes that even the limit of 10 parts per billion suggested by President Clinton's proposal is much too high, and can lead to brain cancer, bladder cancer, and lung cancer. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Christie Todd Whitman commissioned the study, and she is currently considering how the agency will respond.

EPA scientists previously recommended a standard of 3 parts per billion. Economists report that 3 parts per billion is the lowest standard communities will be able to realistically achieve.