TOPIC OF CONCERN - Arsenic
Our Involvement | Research | Other Resources
About Arsenic
Arsenic is an element that occurs naturally in soil and rock, especially in minerals and ores that contain copper or lead. Arsenic may enter the environment during the mining and smelting of these ores. In the past, arsenic was used as a pesticide, primarily in cotton fields and orchards. The use of arsenic has declined, but it can still be found as a preservative for "pressure-treated" wood.
The concentration of arsenic in natural surface and groundwater is generally about 1 part in a billion parts of water (1 ppb) but may exceed 1,000 ppb in mining areas or where arsenic levels in soil are high. Groundwater is far more likely to contain high levels of arsenic than surface water. Soils near arsenic-rich geological deposits, mining and smelting sites, or agricultural areas with a history of arsenic pesticides may contain relatively high levels of arsenic.
Most arsenic is excreted in urine, but it can accumulate in the body and cause a variety of health problems, including cancer. Laboratory tests can measure arsenic in your blood, urine, hair, or fingernails.
If you work with arsenic-treated wood, you can limit exposure to sawdust with dust masks, gloves, and protective clothing. If you live in an area with a high level of arsenic in the water or soil, you can drink bottled water and limit contact with soil through use of a dense groundcover or thick lawn.
Our Involvement
Faculty
Courses
- ENVH 570 Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
- ENVH 577, Risk Assessment for Environmental Health Hazards
Centers and Institutes
- Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research
- Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center
Services
- Environmental Health Laboratory
- Field Research and Consultation Group
- Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU)
News Coverage
Museum first in country to offer safety check for tribal artifacts, Seattle Times Oct. 6, 2005
Sacred objects, safely returned. Biennial Report, 1999-2001.
Science & public policy: Arsenic in drinking water. Environmental Health News, autumn 2001.
Toxicology and you. Environmental Health News, winter 1999.
Arsenic in US water. Environmental Health News, autumn 1998
Napoleon’s wallpaper. Environmental Health News, autumn 1998
Reserach
Graduate Students
- Helene LaVire, MS (2003)
- Analysis of gene expression biomarkers of metal exposure in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) from Anaconda Smelter Site, MT (Terrance Kavanagh)
- Sarah Weppner, MS (2001)
- Farm exposures to deposited arsenic and lead on Vashon/Maury Island (John Kissel)
- Gary Palcisko, MS (2000)
- Children's exposure to lead and arsenic in orchard soils (John Kissel)
- Schneider Emily, MS (2000)
- Effects of sodium arsenite on the cell cycle of primary rat midbrain neuroepithelial cells (Elaine Faustman)
Peer Reviewed Publications
Bates MN, Rey OA, Biggs ML, Hopenhayn C, Moore LE, Kalman D, Steinmaus C, Smith AH. Case-control study of bladder cancer and exposure to arsenic in Argentina. Am J Epidemiol. 2004 Feb 15;159(4):381-9.
Biggs ML, Kalman DA, Moore LE, Hopenhayn-Rich C, Smith MT, Smith AH. Relationship of urinary arsenic to intake estimates and a biomarker of effect, bladder cell micronuclei. Mutat Res. 1997 Jun;386(3):185-95.
Chung JS, Kalman DA, Moore LE, et al. Family correlations of arsenic methylation patterns in children and parents exposed to high concentrations of arsenic in drinking water. Environ Health Persp 2002; 110(7):729-733.
Haque R, Chung J, Kalman D, Samanta S, Mitra S, Ghosh N, Santra A, Lahiri S, Guha, Mazumder D, Smith AH. Investigating susceptibility factors related to arsenic metabolism using a nested case-control design. Epidemiology. 2000; 11 (4): 522.
Haque R, Mazumder DNG, Samanta S, Gnosh N, Kalman D, et al. Arsenic in drinking water and skin lesions: Dose-response data from West Bengal, India. Epidemiology 2003; 14(2):174-182.
Hopenhayn C, Huang B, Christian J, Peralta C, Ferreccio C, Atallah R, Kalman D. Profile of urinary arsenic metabolites during pregnancy. Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Dec;111(16):1888-91.
Hopenhayn-Rich C, Biggs ML, Kalman DA, Moore LE, Smith AH. Arsenic methylation patterns before and after changing from high to lower concentrations of arsenic in drinking water. Environ Health Perspect. 1996 Nov;104(11):1200-7.
Hopenhayn-Rich C, Biggs ML, Smith AH, Kalman DA, Moore LE. Methylation study of a population environmentally exposed to arsenic in drinking water. Environ Health Perspect. 1996 Jun;104(6):620-8.
Hughes JP, Polissar L, van Belle G. Evaluation and synthesis of health effects studies of communities surrounding arsenic producing industries. International Journal of Epidemiology 17:407-413, 1988.
Kalman D. International Arsenic Workshop (presentation and participant) Berkeley, CA, Oct. 12-14, 1999.
Kalman DA, Hughes J, van Belle G, Burbacher T, Bolgiano D, Coble K, Mottet NK, Polissar L. The effect of variable environmental arsenic contamination on urinary concentrations of arsenic species. Environ Health Perspect. 1990 Nov;89:145-51.
Kissel JC. Arsenic on the hands of children. Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Jun;113(6):A364; author reply A364-5.
Moore LE, Smith AH, Eng C, Kalman D, DeVries S, Bhargava V, Chew K, Moore D, Ferreccio C, Rey OA, Waldman FM. Arsenic-related chromosomal alterations in bladder cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2002; 94(22):1688-1696.
Moore LE, Smith AH, Eng C, DeVries S, Kalman D, Bhargava V, Chew K, Ferreccio C, Rey OA, Hopenhayn C, Biggs ML, Bates MN, Waldman FM. P53 alterations in bladder tumors from arsenic and tobacco exposed patients. Carcinogenesis. 2003 Nov;24(11):1785-91. Epub 2003 Aug 14.
Moore LE, Smith AH, Hopenhayn-Rich C, Biggs ML, Kalman DA, Smith MT. Decrease in bladder cell micronucleus prevalence after intervention to lower the concentration of arsenic in drinking water. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1997 Dec;6(12):1051-6.
Moore LE, Smith AH, Hopenhayn-Rich C, Biggs ML, Kalman DA, Smith MT. Micronuclei in exfoliated bladder cells among individuals chronically exposed to arsenic in drinking water. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1997 Jan;6(1):31-6.
Moore LE, Warner ML, Smith AH, Kalman D, Smith MT. Use of the fluorescent micronucleus assay to detect the genotoxic effects of radiation and arsenic exposure in exfoliated human epithelial cells.
Namgung U, Xia Z. Arsenite-induced apoptosis in cortical neurons is mediated by c-Jun N-Terminal Protein Kinase 3 and p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase. J Neurosci 2000; 20(17): 6442-6451.
Namgung U, Xia Z. Arsenic induces apoptosis in rat cerebellar neurons via activation of JNK3 and p38 MAP kinases. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2001;174:130–138.
Polissar L, Lowry-Coble K, Kalman DA, Hughes JP, van Belle G, Covert DS, Burbacher TM, Bolgiano D, Mottet NK. Pathways of human exposure to arsenic in a community surrounding a copper smelter. Environ Res. 1990 Oct;53(1):29-47.
Steinmaus CM, George CM, Kalman DA, Smith AH. Evaluation of two new arsenic field test kits capable of detecting arsenic water concentrations close to 10 microg/L. Environ Sci Technol. 2006 May 15;40(10):3362-3366.
Steinmaus C, Yuan Y, Kalman D, Atallah R, Smith AH. Intraindividual variability in arsenic methylation in a US population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2004; 14 (4): 919–924.
Wolz S, Fenske RA, Simcox NJ, Palcisko G, Kissel JC. Residential arsenic and lead levels in an agricultural community with a history of lead arsenate use. Environ Res. 2003; Nov;93(3):293-300.
Woods JS, Southern MR. Studies on the etiology of trace metal-induced porphyria: effects of porphyrinogenic metals on coproporphyrinogen oxidase in rat liver and kidney. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1989 Jan;97(1):183-190.
Conference Presentations
Hahne R, Nason J. Evaluation of total and removable levels of arsenic, mercury, and lead in natural history museum artifacts as a preface to preparing guidance for the handling of repatriated artifacts. American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, June 2001, New Orleans.
Robinson JF, Yu X, Gribble EJ, Hong S, Kim E, Sidhu JS, Faustman EM. Examination of arsenic-induced alterations in cell cycle progression and global gene expression in p53 transgenic mouse embryonic fibroblasts, Society of Toxicology, March 5–9, 2006, San Diego
Yu X, Sidhu J, Robinson J, Hong S, Faustman E. Integrative analysis of genome-wide gene expression and pathway mapping in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) exposed to cadmium, arsenic and methylmercury: Induction of oxidative stress, disruption of ubiquitin-proteasome system and cell cycle regulation, Society of Toxicology, March 6-10, 2005, New Orleans
Other Resources
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Public health statement for arsenic
- Bangladesh Students’ Association at the University of British Columbia
- EPA: Arsenic in Drinking Water
- Medline Plus, Arsenic
- NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards: Arsenic (inorganic compounds, as As).
- OSHA Health Guidelines
- OSHA Hazard Recognition, Toxic Metals – Arsenic.
- World Health Organization fact sheet 210
