Arsenic – Health Hazards

Arsenic – Health Hazards

Arsenic is the number one naturally occurring chemical of environmental health concern worldwide. Arsenic is an element that forms naturally in rocks and soil. It affects groundwater sources more often than surface water and is commonly found at Superfund sites.  Industrial arsenic in the country is used as a wood preservative, in paints, insecticides and animal feed. 

Arsenic in groundwater is largely the result of minerals dissolving from weathered rocks and soils. The maximum level of arsenic permitted in drinking water from 50 micrograms per liter (ug/L) to 10 ug/L.  Arsenic is a metalloid. It can exist in various allotropes, although only the gray form has important use in industry. 

Rice absorbs arsenic from soil or water much more effectively than most plants. That’s in part because it is one of the only major crops grown in water-flooded conditions, which allow arsenic to be more easily taken up by its roots and stored in the grains. The  crop that was heavily treated with arsenical pesticides. Arsenic is a mineral found in the earth’s crust, naturally occurring. It is a hard mineral used in conjunction with iron to make a stronger metal. 

Arsenic can be transported in a couple ways, through the air, when ground up into smaller particles, and through water when dissolved underground into water systems. India have wide spread areas of underground Arsenic, that threaten the drinking water of millions.

Symptoms of arsenic poisoning range from hardening of the skin, painful sores called lesions that can easily become infected, swollen limbs, and loss of feeling to the hands and feet. There are also a wide range of cancers linked to arsenic exposure. Lung cancer is the most common cause of death among people with arsenic poisoning.