[SunkenCiv]

Satellite view of the Atacama Desert along the coast. Wikimedia Commons [chileatacama by pdmclerran@yahoo.com, on Flickr]

[2banana]

They should have stuck with bottled water...

[Erik Latranyi]

I would think a volcanic eruption upstream could contaminate rivers and streams with high levels of arsenic.

That would also mean the rivers and streams were probably nearly dead for a long time, but naturally recovered.

A great story about the resilience of life on earth.

[1010RD]

So when is Rio Tinto going to be indicted for going back in time and poisoning Chile?

[Red Badger]

Well, that would explain the well preserved mummies.............

[null and void]

Same thing is happening in Bangladesh today. The ground water is high in arsenic.

[Rebelbase]

Arsenic is associated with copper ore which exists in substantial quantities in Chile.

[ElkGroveDan]