Arsenic as a Global Pollutant Arsenic in Water

Arsenic as a Global Pollutant Arsenic in Water Presented by Tiffany Berg June, 20111 1

What is arsenic? Figure 2. Chemical Symbol for arsenic. http: //rentalibre. com/arsenicelement-periodic-table&page=6 Figure 1. Periodic table of elements. http: //www. knowledgedoor. com/2/elements_handbook/arsenic. html 2

Why do we care? Health effects of arsenic poisoning Figure 3. Symptoms of Blackfoot’s disease. Keratosis Internal tumors Cancers of the skin, liver, bladder, and lungs P. Vineis and W. Xun; Ann. Oncol. ; 2008, 205 -212. “Special Report: Policy. A review of human carcinogens – Part C: metals, arsenic, dust and fibres. ” 2009, 10. , 453 -454. Acessed 22 March 2011: http: //www. thelancet. com/oncology 3

Arsenic as a Global Pollutant Risk Very Low Moderate High Figure 4. Estimated risks for arsenic contamination in drinking water. R. P. Schwarzenbach, T. Elgi, T. B. Hofstetter, U. von Gunten, and B. Wehrli; Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 2010, 35, 109 -136. 4

Where does arsenic come from? World Health Organization (WHO) “The main source of arsenic in drinking-water is arsenicrich rocks through which the water has filtered. It may also occur because of mining or industrial activity in some areas. ” http: //www. idwr. idaho. gov/hydrologic/info/statewide/images/Arsenic. Sources. gif “Arsenic in Drinking Water. ” June 2011. http: //www. who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs 210/en/ 5

Figure 5. Explanation of how arsenic get into drinking water. 6

Regulations for arsenic in drinking water Table 1. Regulations for arsenic concentration in drinking water. Regulating Body As concentration threshold limit Bangledesh 50 µg L-1 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 10 µg L-1 World Health Organization (WHO) 10 µg L-1 7

Bangladesh Figure 6. Probability map of arsenic concentration in Bangladesh. Black dots represent measured As concentrations above 10 µg L-1. M. Amini, K. . C Abbaspour, M. Berg, L. Winkel, S. J. Hug, E. Hoehn, H. Yang and A. Johnson; Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 3669 -3675. 8

Bangladesh: Tubewells Good intentions gone awry. Bangladesh villagers dig a tubewell. Encouraged as a solution to pathogenic contamination of surface waters, such wells have resulted in exposures of millions to arsenic, leading to the need for alternative water sources. 9

United States Figure 7. Probability map of arsenic concentration in the United States. Black dots represent measured As concentrations above 10 µg L-1. M. Amini, K. . C Abbaspour, M. Berg, L. Winkel, S. J. Hug, E. Hoehn, H. Yang and A. Johnson; Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 3669 -3675. 10

Arsenic in New England According to mass. gov: Occurs naturally in soil and bedrock in many parts of the United States, including parts of Massachusetts. During the 1800 s it was mined commercially in New Hampshire, but since 1985 arsenic used in the U. S. has been imported. Arsenic residuals left by apple orchard spraying, coal ash disposal, and use of pressure treated wood. 11