The research was conducted by Dr Dora Pearce in conjunction with the University of Ballarat's School of Science and Engineering.

Their findings were presented last night on ABC Television's Catalyst program.

"Because arsenic is naturally occurring around gold mineralisation, and is even used as an indicator in gold exploration, it can be concentrated in the mine waste dumps that are still scattered across our landscape," she said.

"Research is ongoing, here and overseas, to determine if low levels of exposure to arsenic in the soil and water environments are potentially problematic."

Dr Pearce and her team collected toenail clippings and soil from where children played at home.

She said while most arsenic that entered the body was excreted very quickly in urine, some was excreted into the hair and nails, making it easy to investigate exposure patterns.

Funding from the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering enabled researchers to measure the amount of arsenic in soil and toenail clippings and check for residual surface contamination.

Researchers found that while the levels of arsenic are not alarming, people should not be complacent.

"Despite management strategies put in place to regulate soil arsenic in the Goldfields region of Victoria, our study suggests that arsenic in some soils can still be absorbed into the body," she said.

"We hope that by raising community awareness of this issue, childhood exposure to arsenic in soil will be further reduced."

The head of the UB School of Science and Engineering, Associate Professor Kim Dowling, said arsenic research work had been conducting at the university for the past seven years.

Dr Pearce said precautions could be taken.

"If you live in an historic gold mining area, taking simple steps such as not allowing children to play around mine waste, making sure they wash their hands before eating, and growing groundcover plants on bare patches of soil where they play, can help reduce their exposure

to arsenic."