Bladder/lung cancer mortality in Blackfoot-disease (BFD)-endemic area villages with low (<150 μg/L) well water arsenic levels - An exploration of the dose-response Poisson analysis

► Low dose villages defined by median (but not by mean or maximum) includes arsenic levels >500 μg/L. ► Dose-response slopes for villages with only low (<150 μg/L) arsenic levels are negative and often significantly. ► Inclusion of reference population at 0 μg/L forces a positive slope. ► Blackfoot disease (BFD) area is unique; sources of risk are not limited to arsenic. ► EPA model ignores both high arsenic and non-arsenic as explanatory risk factors.