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.
