Arsenic Less Than EPA Maximum Contaminant Level Tied to Adverse Birth Outcomes

THURSDAY, June 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Arsenic measured in public water systems at levels below the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”s maximum contaminant level are associated with adverse birth outcomes, according to a study published online June 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Anne E. Nigra, Sc.M., Ph.D., from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and colleagues examined the association between prenatal public water arsenic exposure below the federal regulatory standard of 10 μg/L and birth outcomes. Infants were born between 2005 and 2020. The cohort comprised 13,998 birthing parents.

The researchers found that prenatal public water arsenic varied from <0.35 to 37.28 μg/L. Prenatal public water arsenic was associated with increased risk of low birth weight, lower birth weight, and lower birth weight-for-gestational age z score in spline models; the effect estimates lacked precision. Per 1 μg/L higher prenatal water arsenic, the risk ratio (RR) of low birth weight was higher among Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White birthing parents (RRs, 1.02, 1.07, and 1.04, respectively); for preterm birth, the RR was higher among Hispanic/Latino birthing parents (RR, 1.05). Per 1 μg/L higher prenatal water arsenic, the mean difference of birth weight and birth weight-for-gestational age z score was more pronounced among White birthing parents (−10 g; −0.02 standard deviations). There was no evidence that the association between birthing parent race and ethnicity and adverse birth outcomes was mediated by prenatal public water arsenic.

“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,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Pfizer.

Abstract/Full Text