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Arsenic toxicity poses a significant human health threat. Arsenic toxicity can harm a person who inhales, ingests, or has skin or eye contact with a substance that contains arsenic. There are several substances that may contain arsenic. Arsenic sources include: chromated copper arsenate (CCA) pressure treated wood, household products, pesticides, automobile lead-acid batteries, semi-conductors, and many industrial facilities. Arsenic from these sources can be released into the air, or can seep into ground soil, food sources, and drinking water, posing a formidable threat of arsenic toxicity health problems.
Arsenic toxicity that is caused by inhalation of arsenic materials poses the greatest threat to employees in industries that use arsenic, people exposed to pressure treated wood dust or other particles, and those who reside near arsenic releasing industrial compounds. Inhalation-induced arsenic toxicity can cause serious problems in the throat, lungs, and other parts of the air passages. Symptoms of arsenic toxicity by way of inhalation can include: chest pain, difficulty breathing, headache, and changes in heart rhythm. Lung cancer is the most deadly effect of arsenic toxicity.
Arsenic toxicity that is caused by ingestion of arsenic materials poses the greatest threat to the aforementioned populations, as well as any individual who consumes contaminated food, drinking water or soil. Children may be at risk of arsenic toxicity from contaminated soil because they are more likely to play in soil and possibly ingest contaminated materials. Symptoms of arsenic toxicity by way of ingestion can include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weakness. Liver, bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers are the most catastrophic consequences of arsenic toxicity.
Arsenic toxicity by way of dermal contact can cause redness, irritation, warts, ulceration and perforation of the nasal septum, numbness, and weakness in the extremities, hyper-pigmentation, dermatitis, and a thickening of the palms and the soles of the feet. Arsenic toxicity by way of skin contact can also lead to skin cancer.
There are a variety of adverse health conditions that can develop as a result of arsenic toxicity by any method of exposure. In animals, arsenic toxicity has been proven to cause enlargement of the common bile duct and degeneration of the liver. Arsenic toxicity in animals also causes serious birth defects. In humans, arsenic toxicity can lead to a reduction of red and white blood cell production which can cause fatigue, abnormal heart beat, increased bruising, and tingling sensations in the skin. Arsenic toxicity can also cause peripheral nerve damage, reduced peripheral circulation, anemia, heart failure, and other calamitous health problems.
Because of the serious threats of arsenic toxicity, the federal government has placed numerous restrictions on the permissible levels of arsenic in different environments. The EPA has placed restrictions on the amount of arsenic that can be released from industrial operations, the amount of arsenic present in drinking water, and has restricted the use of arsenic in pressure treated wood and pesticides. Because of arsenic toxicity, the OSHA has also placed limits on the amount of arsenic to which employees can be exposed.
Pressure treated wood using arsenic, an effective poison for hundreds of years, was used in deck construction for many years but is no longer sold for residential use. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned most uses of arsenic as a pesticide...
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