What are the man-made sources of environmental arsenic?
The Earth’s crust is an abundant natural source of arsenic. It is present in more than 200 different minerals, the most common of which is called arsenopyrite. About one-third of the arsenic in the Earth’s atmosphere is of natural origin. Volcanic action is the most important natural source. The next most important source is arsenic-containing vapor that is generated from solid or liquid forms of arsenic salts at low temperatures. Inorganic arsenic of geological origin is found in groundwater used as drinking water in several parts of the world, for example Bangladesh, India and Taiwan. Organic arsenic compounds, that is, those containing carbon, are mainly found in sea-living organisms, although some of these compounds have also been found in species living on land. As seen in questions 5 to 8, inorganic arsenic poses more problems than organic arsenic. More…
