Quantification of Elemental Contaminants in Unregulated Water across Western Navajo Nation
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Coll Med, Clin Translat Sci Grad ProgramIssue Date
2019-07-31
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Credo, J.; Torkelson, J.; Rock, T.; Ingram, J.C. Quantification of Elemental Contaminants in Unregulated Water across Western Navajo Nation. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2727.Rights
Copyright © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
The geologic profile of the western United States lends itself to naturally elevated levels of arsenic and uranium in groundwater and can be exacerbated by mining enterprises. The Navajo Nation, located in the American Southwest, is the largest contiguous Native American Nation and has over a 100-year legacy of hard rock mining. This study has two objectives, quantify the arsenic and uranium concentrations in water systems in the Arizona and Utah side of the Navajo Nation compared to the New Mexico side and to determine if there are other elements of concern. Between 2014 and 2017, 294 water samples were collected across the Arizona and Utah side of the Navajo Nation and analyzed for 21 elements. Of these, 14 elements had at least one instance of a concentration greater than a national regulatory limit, and six of these (V, Ca, As, Mn, Li, and U) had the highest incidence of exceedances and were of concern to various communities on the Navajo Nation. Our findings are similar to other studies conducted in Arizona and on the Navajo Nation and demonstrate that other elements may be a concern for public health beyond arsenic and uranium.Note
Open access journalISSN
1660-4601PubMed ID
31370179Version
Final published versionSponsors
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research [P50ES026089]; National Cancer Institute/Native American Cancer Prevention [U54CA143925]; Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board NARCH 10 - National Institutes of Health [1S06GM127164]; Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board NARCH 7 - Indian Health Service [U261IHS0074-01-01]; National Institutes of Healthae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/ijerph16152727
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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