The MDI Biological Laboratory and community partners from Aroostook and Washington Counties have joined together in addressing arsenic in water, soil and food by engaging teachers and students as citizen scientists in collecting water, soil, and crop samples from agricultural sites with a history of arsenical pesticide use.
Long term exposure to arsenic from water and/or food sources can cause numerous severe health problems, including cancer of the bladder, lung, liver, prostate, and skin, diabetes, heart disease and reproductive, developmental, cardiovascular, pulmonary, immunological, neurological, and endocrine problems.
The greatest historic use of arsenical pesticides in Maine are areas that include potato fields, apple orchards, and blueberry barrens. The goal of this school-based citizen science project is to address a significant public health concern by supporting students in sharing their findings with their communities and identifying solutions to arsenic exposure through water, food, and soil contact.