COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 24 (UPI) -- Up to 100 waterworks in Denmark have levels of arsenic that exceed the Environment Ministry's current threshold, two experts say.
The scientists from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland and the Alectia consultancy firm are preparing a report stating high arsenic levels were found in samples taken from between 50 to 100 waterworks, the Copenhagen Post said Friday.
Ingenioren, a trade journal, said the report warns that water companies cause such increased arsenic levels by drilling into the ground too deep.
When such over-drilling takes place, the report says, arsenic, a naturally occurring substance, finds its way into drinking water supplies.
The Environment Ministry lowered its threshold for arsenic levels in 2003 despite a lack of available methods to remove the poisonous substance from drinking water, geologist Carsten Vigen Hansen said.
"When the arsenic limit was lowered in 2003, no valid methods existed to clean the drinking water," Hansen said. "It takes time to find these solutions and you can't just shut down water supplies for that long."
