EPA revokes arsenic standards

WASHINGTON -- EPA Administrator Christie Whitman on Tuesday rescinded a Clinton administration decision that would have significantly reduced the amount of arsenic allowed in the nation's drinking water.

Outraged environmentalists said the move, combined with other recent actions, signals a new tendency by Bush administration officials to appease industry rather than safeguard public health and the environment.

Arsenic levels exceeding the standards that the Clinton administration sought to impose are found mainly in small water districts in arid, Western states.