In Victorian times, arsenic was widely used as a “cure-all” tonic. Some scientists believe that a low level of arsenic is actually an essential element in our diet. However, it is now regarded as a toxic element, which can cause a range of symptoms. Arsenic can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed through contact. A build-up of arsenic generally occurs in the brain, bones and tissue, and can cause severe damage if it is not removed.
Today, arsenic continues to poison millions of Americans. The element occurs naturally in the soil and enters the water supply throughout the U.S., especially in the west, mid-west and New England. After more than 20 years of debate, a new arsenic standard was signed into law in late 2001, reducing the allowable level for the contaminant in drinking water by more than 80%. The law impacts 4,100 public water systems that serve 13 million people. An additional 40 million Americans obtain their water from private wells, which are not protected by the new standard and may have high levels of arsenic. Even at the new level of 10 parts per billion (ppb), three in 1,000 people exposed will die from cancer. For the past two decades, the EPA's maximum acceptable level of risk for all other drinking water contaminants has been one in 10,000.
Sources
Chemical processing plants, cigarette smoke, drinking water, fungicides, meats and seafood, metal foundries, ore smelting plants, paints, pesticides, polluted air, seafood (esp. oysters, shrimp, muscles), weed killers, wood preservatives.
Physiological Effects
Extremely poisonous as well as colorless and odorless, arsenic can enter the body through the mouth, lungs and skin. Arsenic toxicity seems to affect the skin predominantly, lungs and gastrointestinal system, and may cause nervous disorders, deteriorated motor coordination, respiratory diseases, and kidney damage as well as cancers of the skin, liver, bladder and lungs.
Arsenic Occurrence in the United States
For further information on the health effects of arsenic, please check the current research below:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic.htmlhttp://socrates.berkeley.edu/~asrg/
