PEDIATRICS Vol. 74 No. 6 December 1984, pp. 1103-1106
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Drinking-Water-Induced Copper Intoxication in a Vermont Family

Kenneth C. Spitalny MD1, Jack Brondum DVM, MS1, Richard L. Vogt MD1, Harold E. Sargent PE1, and Steven Kappel BS1

1 From the Vermont Department of Health Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Division, and Public Health Statistics Divisions, and the Centers for Disease Control, Epidemiology Program Office, Division of Field Services, Burlington

Three of four family members reported recurrent episodes of gastrointestinal illness while residing in a house in a small northwestern Vermont village. The father and two daughters repeatedly experienced episodes of emesis and abdominal pain after drinking water drawn from their kitchen faucet. One early-morning water sample taken from the family household contained a copper level of 7.8 mg/L, which is above the standard for drinking water (1.0 mg/L). Values for the second daughter's copper in hair analysis (1,200 µ/g) and copper in nail analysis (100 µ/g) were elevated (normal range 11 to 53 µ/g). The household was at the end of a frac34-in (19.05-mm) copper main, and it is suspected that copper levels increased in water when the water remained stagnant in the main. All symptoms of the family resolved when they stopped drinking water in their home. This is the first report of copper-induced gastrointestinal illness attributable to a public supply of drinking water.

Key Words: emesis • gastrointestinal illness • copper intoxication • water

Submitted on June 2, 1984
Accepted on June 2, 1984




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[Abstract] [PDF]