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Arsenic that is naturally occurring can contaminate the soil, just as it does the groundwater. This presents a possible arsenic exposure by use of products containing tobacco, because the tobacco plant grows from the soil and can become infiltrated with the arsenic. [3]
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]
Arsenic is bioaccumulative in many organisms, marine species in particular, but it does not appear to biomagnify significantly in food webs. [221] In polluted areas, plant growth may be affected by root uptake of arsenate, which is a phosphate analog and therefore readily transported in plant tissues and cells.
The arsenic (As) cycle is the biogeochemical cycle of natural and anthropogenic exchanges of arsenic terms through the atmosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Although arsenic is naturally abundant in the Earth's crust, long-term exposure and high concentrations of arsenic can be detrimental to human health. [1] [2]
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.
Arsenic promotes growth in chickens and rats, and may be essential for humans in small quantities. Arsenic has been shown to be helpful in metabolizing the amino acid arginine. There are 7 mg of arsenic in a typical 70 kg human. [14] Antimony is not known to have a biological role. Plants take up only trace amounts of antimony.
Human activities dominate the global and most regional N cycles. [36] N inputs have shown negative consequences for both nutrient cycling and native species diversity in terrestrial and aquatic systems. In fact, due to long-term impacts on food webs, Nr inputs are widely considered the most critical pollution problem in marine systems. [8]
Monosodium methyl arsenate (MSMA) is an arsenic-based herbicide.It is an organo-arsenate; less toxic than the inorganic form of arsenates. However, the EPA states that all forms of arsenic are a serious risk to human health and the United States' Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ranked arsenic as number 1 in its 2001 Priority List of Hazardous Substances at Superfund sites.