Batangas Residents Advised by Health Department to Take Precautionary Measures After Groundwaters Test Positive for Arsenic
The Health Department has warned the residents of nine areas in Batangas after the groundwater tests positive for arsenic.
The Department of Health (DOH) has advised the residents in a city and eight towns in Batangas to take precautionary measures after arsenic has been found in the groundwater. The contaminated water can pose risk to the public’s health.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergerie explained that water contaminated with arsenic can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and numbness of extremities to the victims.
“Kapag sila ang nakainom ng kontaminadong tubig na arsenic, they can be vomiting, they can be having abdominal pain, maaaring magtae, maaaring makaranas ng numbness ang kanilang extremities,” Vergerie said.
Vergerie explained that victims who drink a lot can die if not treated immediately. The Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force on Arsenic-Taal Volcano Protected Landscape also named the areas that tested positive for arsenic.
Here is the list of affected areas:
- Balete
- San Nicolas
- Mataas na Kahoy
- Alitagtag
- Sta. Teresita
- Lemery
- Taal
- Tanauan City
The health experts discovered that the level of arsenic in these areas is quite higher than the average level. Arsenic has been first detected after the eruption of Taal Volcano in January 2020.
Batangas Medical Center Toxicology chief Dr. Rhoda Reyes warned the public that exposure to contaminated water can cause negative effects on human skin and can even result in cancer.
The residents living near Taal Lake were advised to avoid drinking and bathing from ground waters.
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