It doesn't take long for the rumour mill to heat up in a tightly-knit community like Blackville.

Suspicion, worry and frustration have been commonplace in the village of about 900 residents, since word began to spread that the tiny Miramichi River community might have a problem with arsenic and that neither the Department of Health nor Health Canada can seem to find a source.

Throw in the fact that dozens of residents have been waiting an almost unheard of 10 weeks to get their blood and urine test results back, and anxiety has been mounting steadily.

And although villagers are still hungry for a quick resolution, many say they aren't going to give in to the hysteria that the rumour mill has been churning out until they have reason to believe it.

Blackville resident Eric Walls said the Thursday night public forum on the issue helped the community present a unified front, and showed the government and medical officials in the crowd how seriously they're taking the arsenic threat.

"I think last night's meeting showed the government that we stick together as a community, and that hopefully it'll get them jumping around and take this more seriously," said Eric Walls, who owns a restaurant in town.

"At the beginning of this, the government only had two or three people shouting at them -- now they have 200, so I imagine they're going to look after us pretty well from now on."

An official with the Miramichi Regional Hospital told meeting attendees that their test results were being delayed due to equipment malfunctioning at the Ontario processing lab.

She said the health authority was told that the tests should be ready by Jan. 28.

Blackville resident Willie Walls said he's glad he doesn't live near the centre of the arsenic mystery, at Digby Street and Shaffer Lane.

He said he can't imagine the stress those residents must be going through as they wait for a source to be found.

"I feel very bad for them; they have their whole livelihoods invested in that area, and you can't just pack up and move."

Willie said he thinks it was premature for the Department of Health to rule out contaminated water as a source of the heightened arsenic levels found in seven village residences.

He said several more rounds of testing should be required this spring.

"To me, knowing from years ago about stuff that could have possibly got buried in the ground here, we have no idea what's in the ground."

"Whether there's something in the ground leaching out when we got the heavy rains the past few years, you don't know what's seeping into what," he said. "The water and the soil are the only common denominators here, if that's what the government is looking for."

Village Councillor Jonathan Brennan said he can't fathom the thought of foul play being the cause of the high arsenic levels, even though District 6 RCMP have opened up a file on the case.

Brennan said at this point, everything is speculation.

"We've been in touch with the RCMP on this all the way, and they've never hinted that there was any type of poisoning caused by the human hand," he said.

"I think people are more at ease here this morning -- I think everybody got to voice their frustrations to the political leaders (Thursday) night, especially Mr. (Rick) Brewer, and I think that's what the community needed."

To date, only one of the seven people confirmed with high arsenic, Fenton Sturgeon, has also been confirmed to have advanced symptoms of arsenic toxicity. His wife and father in-law have also been diagnosed with high levels, but haven't shown any toxic effects.

The Department of Health said nobody has been labeled as having arsenic poisoning.

District 6 RCMP Staff Sgt. Greg Grant said the detachment will continue to monitor the situation closely, but they have no factual evidence to confirm any criminal wrongdoing in their investigation.

"There are a lot of allegations and supposition, but we've heard very little fact," said Grant.

"We've had nothing credible, there are allegations all over the place, but until we get something substantial, we can only continue in an observatory role."