A historical survey into the occupational hazards of mining and refining arsenic is presented together with the measures adopted for their control. The industry is placed in the social perspective of its time and it is suggested that this experience could be of value to those who may encounter similar problems where arsenic is extracted elsewhere in the world.

BACKGROUND Concerns for arsenic exposure are not limited to toxic waste sites and massive poisoning events. Chronic exposure continues to be a major public health problem worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of persons. OBJECTIVES We reviewed recent information on worldwide concerns for arsenic exposures and public health to heighten awareness of the current scope of arsenic exposure and...

Urinary arsenic species have been determined for approximately 3000 urine samples obtained from residents of a community surrounding an arsenic-emitting copper smelter. Levels of inorganic, monomethylated and dimethylated arsenic species ranged from less than 1 microgram/L (the instrumental detection limit) to 180 micrograms/L seen for dimethyl arsenic. Comparison of a subsample of this populat...

Environmental exposure to arsenic represents a serious challenge to humans and other animals. The aim of the present study was to test the protective effect of antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) either individually or in combination with a chelating agent, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), against sodium arsenite oral toxicity in male rats. Five groups were used: control; arsenic group (...

BACKGROUND Diabetes affects an estimated 346 million persons globally, and total deaths from diabetes are projected to increase > 50% in the next decade. Understanding the role of environmental chemicals in the development or progression of diabetes is an emerging issue in environmental health. In 2011, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) organized a workshop to assess the literature for evid...

Christine, a 40-year-old white woman, suffered from acute gastrointestinal pain, diarrhea, malaise, and fatigue shortly after receiving oral herbal treatment and drank eight glasses of clear liquid in a clinic in California. On October 19, 2004 between 1540 and 1730, she was given Uro-well herbal supplement prescribed by her physician as a kidney-cleansing agent. Christine was transported by am...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that appropriate workpractices be implemented to reduce the risk of worker exposure to arsine (AsH3) gas. There is a high potential for the generation of arsine gas when inorganic arsenic is exposed to nascent (freshly formed) hydrogen. This recommendation is based on several reports of worker exposure to arsine result...

In the recent past, arsenic contamination in groundwater has emerged as an epidemic in different Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, and China. Arsenic removal plants (ARP) are one possible option to provide arsenic-safe drinking water. This paper evaluates the efficiency of ARP projects in removing arsenic and iron from raw groundwater, on the basis of our 2-year-long study covering 18...

The 1994 discovery of arsenic in ground water in Bangladesh prompted a massive public health effort to test all tubewells in the country and convince nearly one-quarter of the population to switch to arsenic-free drinking water sources. According to numerous sources, the campaign was effective in leading the majority of households at risk of arsenic poisoning to abandon backyard wells in favor ...