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Arsenic poisoning (or arsenicosis) is a medical condition that occurs due to elevated levels of arsenic in the body. [4] If arsenic poisoning occurs over a brief period of time, symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and watery diarrhea that contains blood. [1]
Gold mining can contaminate groundwater with arsenic, because the element typically occurs in gold-containing ores. Gold processing releases arsenic from mine tailings, and contaminated groundwater may be unsafe to drink for decades. [6] Arsenic that is naturally occurring can contaminate the soil, just as it does the groundwater.
Elemental arsenic and arsenic sulfate and trioxide compounds are classified as "toxic" and "dangerous for the environment" in the European Union under directive 67/548/EEC. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recognizes arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds as group 1 carcinogens , and the EU lists arsenic trioxide, arsenic ...
Why is inorganic arsenic dangerous? Though many food and beverage products contain safe levels of organic arsenic, inorganic arsenic is a toxic chemical contaminant.
Arsenic: When high amounts of arsenic is inhaled or ingested through coal ash waste, diseases such as bladder cancer, skin cancer, kidney cancer and lung cancer can develop. [ 5 ] [ 11 ] Ultimately, exposure of arsenic over a long period of time can cause mortality. [ 5 ]
The toxic effects of arsenic, mercury and lead were known to the ancients but methodical studies of the overall toxicity of heavy metals appear to date from only 1868. In that year, Wanklyn and Chapman speculated on the adverse effects of the heavy metals "arsenic, lead, copper, zinc, iron and manganese" in drinking water. They noted an ...
Arsenic is a moderately abundant element in Earth's crust, and although many arsenic compounds are often considered highly toxic to most life, a wide variety of organoarsenic compounds are produced biologically and various organic and inorganic arsenic compounds are metabolized by numerous organisms.
Arsenate is the major arsenic form in oxidizing environments; however, in one study, bacteria from arsenic-contaminated soil at a smelter site was able to reduce As(+5) to As(+3) under anaerobic conditions at arsenic concentration as high as 75 mg/L. [3] Arsenate-respiring bacteria and Archaea have also recently been isolated from a diversity of natural environments, including freshwater ...