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“In 2004, I started having trouble with my skin,” says Richard Minoty, who with his wife moved into a housing complex in Belgrade in 2002. Belgrade is a hot spot for elevated arsenic levels. “Got more cancer — skin cancer – than anybody I’ve ever known,” Minoty says.

Exposure to arsenic has been linked to an increased risk for skin, bladder and lung cancer, as well as developmental disabilities. Minoty says his skin cancer was so pervasive, his dermatologist advised him to test his water for arsenic, and he did.

“The arsenic in that was so high, my doctor told me, ‘You move today. You stay there no longer,’” Minoty says.

He and his wife did move out. And now, he wants other people that rely on private wells for water to get it tested.

So do the health organizations that sent a letter to LePage, demanding the state step up its efforts to reduce the risk of arsenic exposure.

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