Arsenic: It’s Toxicity and Impact on Human Health

Water pollution is a major problem in modern life. Almost all the heavy metals are toxic at higher concentrations and some are lethalat very low concentration. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element present in water, food and soil, but now-a-days this element is one of the rapidly emerging serious environmental pollutants; released into the environment through industrial and agricultural usage. In many parts of India, the ground water is contaminated with arsenic. The genesis of arsenic pollution is not understood fully, yet it is thought that natural geological weathering is mostly responsible for the dissolved arsenic in ground water. Arsenic exposure to human causes degenerative, inflammatory and neoplastic changes in skin, respiratory system, blood, lymphatic system, nervous system and reproductive system. There is no particular remedial action for chronic arsenic poisoning. Nearly 100 million people are to be affected by arsenic diseases like spots on the skin, high blood pressure, diabetes, skin cancer, cancer of urinary bladder, kidney and lungs. Low socio-economic status and malnutrition may increase the risk of chronic toxicity. There is a strong relationship between chronic ingestion of arsenic and deleterious human health effects. Safe drinking water and well-nourished food is essential for the prevention of chronic arsenic toxicity. Balance nutritious-supplements play a major role in the prevention of chronic arsenic poisoning. In this review article, authors tried to provide an overview of some of the major effects documented in the scientific literature.