Epidemiological studies on human subjects exposed to arsenic in drinking water in southeast Hungary

Between 1971 and 1987, a house-by-house study was carried out on 25,648 people living in the Southeast region of Hungary, who used and drank deep-well water contaminated with arsenic throughout their lives. The maximal As concentration exceeded 0.1 mg/l. A total of 20,836 inhabitants of the neighboring rural area with low As in the drinking water served as controls. Dermatologists found many cases of arsenical hyperkeratosis and hyperpigmentation in the contaminated areas, both in children and adults. Altogether 2059 hair samples were evaluated, 230 samples of which originated from control areas. The As contents in drinking water paralleled the levels of As in hair. High hair As levels occurred in those areas where the consumed water contained 0.17-0.33 mg/l As, which was slightly higher than the internationally allowed level (0.05-0.1 mg/l).