Healthy Water, Healthy Aging

Full project title: “Healthy Water, Healthy Aging: Engaging Mainers in testing their drinking water for arsenic, other toxic metals, and PFAS.”

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, arsenic is the number one contaminant of concern for human health in the US. Long-term exposure to water with arsenic may lead to a host of health issues, including heart disease, cancer of the bladder, lung, liver, prostate, and skin, and diabetes. Public water systems must not exceed the 10 µg/L Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Though public drinking water is federally regulated, private wells are not. Maine has among the highest per-capita reliance on private wells for drinking water in the United States, and yet approximately 10% of Maine wells have levels of arsenic above 10 µg/L. Despite these statistics, testing rates in Maine remain low.

The “Healthy Water, Healthy Aging” Project helps Mainers over age 18 ensure they drink healthy water throughout their lives while participating in a research study to understand the relationship between contaminant exposure and hallmarks of aging.

The project will pilot PFAS testing in communities with identified risks. Learn more about project expansion on our PFAS in drinking water page.

Partners

Dartmouth Trace Element Analysis Core

The Dartmouth Trace Element Analysis Core has been an active partner with the All About Arsenic⁺ program since our first project, All About Arsenic: Data to Action. They specialize in low-level trace metal analysis and speciation in environmental and biological samples.

Island Institute

Island Institute supported “Healthy Water, Healthy Aging” through the Island Institute Fellows program in 2023-2025. Maine Seacoast Mission took our fellow to Maine’s outer islands to engage community members in testing their well water for toxic metals. More about the effort to engage residents of Maine’s unbridged islands in this healthy drinking water project can be found on our Maine Islands page.

Project Leadership