On Jan. 17, the Clinton administration issued a final rule lowering the amount of arsenic allowed in drinking water from 50 parts per billion to just 10 ppb. Many groundwater supplies around the world, including those from several hot spots in the United States, are naturally tainted with this carcinogenic element. In announcing the new limit, the Environmental Protection Agency noted that some 4,100 drinking-water systems serving 15 million people would be affected.
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