A new study refutes the report of the presence of arsenic in the water of Buenos Aires Province
At a meeting held in Mendoza and with representatives of 14 provinces and the national state, the Federal Water Council (COHIFe) confirmed that Arsenic map issued by the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA) Concerning the presence of arsenic in drinking water, “it lacks the necessary technical, scientific, methodological and documentary conditions to be considered a valid tool.”
The report sent by COHIFe yesterday confirms that “the information sent by the ITBA lacks verifiable traceability, as the samples were provided by subjects voluntarily, without a chain of custody record, without data on exact coordinates, depths, type of collection, preservatives used, transport times, preservation conditions, or on-site controls, which is inconsistent with what has been established by the World Health Organization and IRAM, among other organizations.”
Arsenic in water: the new report
The document removing all authority from the publication of the ITBA was signed by representatives of Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Juan, La Rioja, Corrientes, Chaco, Mendoza, Chubut, Misiones, Salta, Formosa, Cordoba and the National State.
He also criticizes the lightness with which the ITBA publication addressed “a subject of great public and health sensitivity, such as the presence of arsenic in ground and surface waters of the national territory, and that any communication to this effect requires strict adherence to technical and scientific standards and protocols.”
It also notes that ITBA admitted “no verification was carried out in the field, no validation of wells, coordinates, depths, watershed status or discrepancy with official regional and national rules, which prevents certification of the validity and representativeness of the points provided” and that ITBA “did not provide analytical quality controls (replicates, blanks, certified standards, interlaboratory tests, which limits the reliability of the reported measurements).
COHIFe also states that the arsenic map “provides samples that correspond to areas that currently receive drinking water from sources within established limits, generating an incorrect correlation between values found in groundwater and the water actually consumed by the population, leading to misinterpretations of potential health and social impact.”
Rather, he highlights that “ITBA itself recognizes that the map is part of a university extension project and university thesis, without peer review, without formal sampling protocols and without the technical scope necessary for regional groundwater characterization, which limits its validity as a conclusive tool.”
COHIFe explains that the jurisdictions that make it up systematically monitor and operate treatment systems and implement permanent investments “to ensure that water allocated for human consumption complies with the values set in accordance with the regulations in force in each governorate.”
Study conclusions
In its document, the Federal Water Council decided the following:
* We declare that the material distributed by the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires as an arsenic map lacks the necessary technical, scientific, methodological and documentary conditions to be considered a valid tool for the hydrogeochemical, sanitary or mapping characterization of groundwater in the Argentine Republic.
* State that dissemination of information with significant community impact, without commitment to sampling, preservation, tracking, field verification, analytical quality control, spatial representation and scientific review protocols, can lead to erroneous conclusions among the population and affect confidence in drinking water supply systems.
* Reaffirms that COHiFe member jurisdictions stipulate that the water available to residents strictly complies with the values set forth in current regulations, verified through permanent monitoring, monitoring and treatment systems.
* Urge that all future publications related to criteria affecting public health, including the presence of arsenic (or some other agent) in water resources, be carried out in strict adherence to current national and international technical standards, ensuring transparency, methodological rigor and responsible communication.
It should be noted that the Federal Water Council consists of the regional states, the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the national state. It is a legal entity under public law created as a federal body to address global, strategic, inter-jurisdictional and international aspects of water resources.