Type 2 diabetes (reported to be very high in El Paso)

""....the study conducted by Ana Navas-Acien, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland and colleagues found that levels in tap water are higher than this. And the situation is getting worse as people in other countries of the world are exposed to much higher levels of arsenic.....

For the study, the researchers analyzed 788 adults age 20 and older who had their urine tested for arsenic levels as part of a study conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2003-2004, a nationwide health study that for the first time collected and tested arsenic levels in urine.

The study found that participants with type 2 diabetes had a 26 percent higher level of total arsenic in their urine compared to those not having the disease."

A 2006 Science News article reported the discovery of a new hormone, produced in our bones, that controls blood sugar better than insulin.   Not all water filtration units remove arsenic.

How to live on a former Asarco smelter site

ASARCO former Ruston and Tacoma smelter site --
".... the cities of Ruston and Tacoma make money from the trickle down of millionaires, the developer rides the housing bubble through the crisis, and the EPA finds a new owner to take care of the toxic cleanup. But whatever kills you after three years is your own problem, because after the property is sold it has a three-year warranty. But, they add reassuringly in their FAQ, there will be a homeowners association prepared to manage that risk for you."
http://utopiaorbust.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/photo-message-from-a-toxic-waste-site/