Despite the risks to human health, testing for arsenic isn’t required for most private drinking wells in New Jersey. To help address this regulatory gap, a Rutgers researcher developed a machine learning model that can estimate arsenic contamination in private wells without the need to sample the water itself.
“New Jersey has many naturally occurring arsenic sources, which can elevate the arsenic concentration in groundwater,” said Subhasis Giri, an assistant research professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources and lead author of the study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. “Our work contributes to the understanding of this human health risk by revealing the sources of arsenic concentration in private drinking water wells, which will in turn help with mitigation.” To read the full story.