The aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of arsenic in tube-well water, food and residents' urines samples in Yatenga province, Burkina Faso. The prevalence of skin lesions was evaluated as well. The study was cross-sectional in design. It was conducted during April 2009. Permanent residents of 20 villages were included in the study. Water samples were collected from 31 tube-well...

Arsenic is a major environmental pollutant and exposure occurs through environmental, occupational and medicinal sources. The contaminated drinking water is the main source of exposure and affected countries are India (West Bengal), Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Chile, Argentina and Romania. Concentrations of arsenic in affected areas are several times higher than the maximum contaminati...

Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a severe global problem, most notably in Southeast Asia where millions suffer from acute and chronic arsenic poisoning. Removing arsenic from groundwater in impoverished rural or urban areas without electricity and with no manufacturing infrastructure remains a significant challenge. Magnetite nanocrystals have proven to be useful in arsenic remediation a...

During the period 1941-5, studies were conducted in this laboratory on the antidotal action of 2:3dimercaptopropanol (BAL, British Anti-Lewisite) and other thiols in arsenic poisoning; for review see Young (1946). The investigations were undertaken after receiving early reports of the work of Peters and his co-workers on the value of 2:3-dimercaptopropanol as an antidote to arsenic. In 1945 Pet...

Arsenic has been used for millenia. Although it has been known for many years that arsenic is soon fatal when ingested at high doses, the effects of low dosages became apparent in the 1980s. The full societal implications are only now becoming clear. It is now known to pose the highest calculated risk of any substance regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); high concentration...

Scarcity of pure drinking water during the dry season (November-March) is a major problem in Bangladesh, which needs to be addressed. This crisis has been further aggravated due to surging populations. Rainwater can provide some of the cleanest naturally occurring water and can hold a great potential in dealing with the current challenge of acute arsenic poisoning as well as physical water scar...

Besides its toxicity, groundwater arsenic contamination creates widespread social problems for its victims and their families in Bangladesh. There is, for instance, a tendency to ostracise arsenic-affected people, arsenicosis being thought of as a contagious disease. Within the community, arsenic-affected people are barred from social activities and often face rejection, even by their immediate...

Coal has contributed enormously to the advance of civilization by providing an abundant, inexpensive, and convenient source of energy. Concurrent with its contributions, coal has extracted a high cost in terms of environmental damage and human health impacts. Coal will remain a key component of the global energy mix for decades to come as well as a major source of global pollutants. Despite its...