More than 25m Drink from the Worst U.S. Water Systems, with Latinos Most Exposed

Millions of people in the U.S. are drinking water that fails to meet federal health standards, including by violating limits for dangerous contaminants. Latinos are disproportionately exposed, according to the Guardian's review of more than 140,000 public water systems across the U.S. and county-level demographic data. Paloma Beamer, an exposure science researcher at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, found that most Latino residents in Nogales, Arizona, thought that drinking tap water was as unsafe as drinking alcohol and driving, and more detrimental to their health than smoking.