The knowledge of the residents concerning the health risk of arsenic (As) contamination in the blackfoot disease (BFD) area, Taiwan

[[abstract]]Many endemic cases of blackfoot disease (BFD), caused by asenic (As) contamination, have been recorded in the coastal regions of southwest Taiwan. Local people in these regions stopped draining groundwater for daily use after the popularity of tap water; however, the fishermen started to use groundwater for aquaculture. Ingestion of those As-contaminated fish could lead to adverse health effects; The realization of the residents from the BFD area concerning the risk of As contamination remains unknown. The ruslting data of questionnaire, conducted to interview 102 residents from the BFD area, show that the residents from the BDF area have lack of the knowledge concerning BFD and As contamination. Only 26% of them know that BFD is caused by As. There are 72% of the residents have never even heard of As. More environmental education concerning As pollution and the risk in human health needs to be undertaken