Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Environ Res. 2020 Sep;188:109768. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109768. Epub 2020 Jun 12.
Little is known about the quality of drinking water in US correctional facilities (e.g. detention centers, prisons, jails, etc.). Our objective was to determine if incarcerated persons are at risk for chronic, elevated arsenic exposure relative to the non-incarcerated US population, particularly in the Southwestern US where public water and groundwater arsenic concentrations are high compared to the rest of the US.
We analyzed 230,158 arsenic monitoring records from 37,086 community water systems (CWSs) from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Third Six Year Review of Contaminant Occurrence dataset (covering 2006-2011). We compared six-year average arsenic concentrations and the odds of exceeding the EPA's 10 μg/L maximum contaminant level (MCL) for CWSs exclusively serving correctional facilities versus all other CWSs in the Southwestern US, where groundwater arsenic concentrations are high.
Average six-year water arsenic concentrations were higher for Southwestern correctional facility CWSs (6.41 μg/L, 95% CI 3.48, 9.34) compared to all other Southwestern CWSs (3.11 μg/L, 95% CI 2.97, 3.24) and to other CWSs across the rest of the US (1.39 μg/L, 95% CI 1.35, 1.42). In the Southwest, 26.1% (N = 6) of correctional facility CWSs versus 5.8% (509) of other CWSs reported six-year arsenic averages exceeding 10 μg/L, corresponding to an odds ratio of 5.70 (95% confidence interval 2.24, 14.52). Correctional facility CWSs in the Southwest were also more likely to report six-year averages exceeding 5 μg/L (the MCL for New Jersey and New Hampshire, N = 8, odds ratio 2.77, 95% CI 1.17, 6.54).
Persons incarcerated in the Southwestern US were at disproportionate risk of elevated drinking water arsenic exposure and related disease from 2006 to 2011. Strict enforcement of EPA regulations and additional technical and financial support for CWSs serving correctional facilities in the Southwest is necessary to protect the health and human rights of incarcerated persons.
美国惩教设施（例如拘留中心、监狱、看守所等）的饮用水质量鲜为人知。我们的目标是确定被监禁者是否面临慢性、高水平砷暴露的风险，相对于未被监禁的美国人口，特别是在美国西南部，那里的公共水和地下水砷浓度高于美国其他地区。
我们分析了美国环境保护署（EPA）第三次六年污染物监测数据（涵盖 2006-2011 年）中 37086 个社区供水系统（CWS）的 230158 个砷监测记录。我们比较了美国西南部专门为惩教设施服务的 CWS 的六年平均砷浓度和超过 EPA 10μg/L 最大污染物水平（MCL）的几率，与美国西南部地下水砷浓度较高的所有其他 CWS 进行了比较。
与美国西南部所有其他 CWS（3.11μg/L，95%CI 2.97，3.24）和美国其他地区的所有其他 CWS（1.39μg/L，95%CI 1.35，1.42）相比，美国西南部惩教设施 CWS 的六年平均水砷浓度更高（6.41μg/L，95%CI 3.48，9.34）。在美国西南部，26.1%（N=6）的惩教设施 CWS 报告了六年的砷平均值超过 10μg/L，而其他 CWS 仅为 5.8%（509），这对应于 5.70 的优势比（95%置信区间 2.24，14.52）。美国西南部的惩教设施 CWS 也更有可能报告六年平均超过 5μg/L（新泽西州和新罕布什尔州的 MCL，N=8，优势比 2.77，95%置信区间 1.17，6.54）。
2006 年至 2011 年，美国西南部被监禁者面临不成比例的高饮用水砷暴露和相关疾病风险。严格执行 EPA 法规，并为美国西南部的惩教设施供水系统提供额外的技术和财政支持，是保护被监禁者健康和人权的必要条件。
