******
Suddenly we are besieged with a "new awareness" of the dangers of arsenic. What's going on here? Seems that years ago a bottler of a favorite drink had manufactured bottles at a location that is now proposed for public use. The manufacturer discarded, in the area, glass that either failed to meet standards or perhaps was broken in the processes. Arsenic was and is a constituent of that glass. (Never mind that the drinks were acid and could have leached small quantities of arsenic, that's someone else's problem.)
A study of a plot of ground at the bottling site found arsenic is present. Now is that at all surprising? With the current state of instrumentation, we are now able to detect parts per trillion, or even less for some elements or compounds, and with the allied technology of concentration enhancement, you can find traces of almost anything in a sample. And of course they were looking at a place where arsenic was known to have been used.
Back to the issue of arsenic. If the "surprise" discovery of the presence of arsenic isn't enough to insult your intelligence, it is revealed that some areas have more arsenic than others. You certainly don't have to have a degree in mathematics, special training in statistics, or have even passed math in grammar school to realize that if you take two measurements, one will be lower than the other (If they at first appear to be equal, it's just a matter of carrying the numerical representation to enough decimal places to show a difference.) Of course if your intent is to incite public paranoia, you say that one is higher than the other!
While I don't intend to apologize for arsenic in the environment, I would like to point out that this element which was perhaps discovered as an element in 1250 or so, has had and continues to have many uses. Historically, it was named arsenikon after the Greek god arsenidos, in the belief that metals were of different sexes, male in this case (I do hope the women libbers don't take up this cause because of its namesake.) Elemental arsenic occurs in two solid forms yellow, and grey (metallic). These have very different specific gravities (weight per unit of volume) of 1.97 and 5.73 which may be compared to water with a specific gravity of 1.00 and gold of 19.3 (The values are not absolute as gold and many other elements expand/contract dependent on the temperature at which their weight per unit of volume is determined). Since mercury has a specific gravity of 13.55, pure arsenic will float and gold will sink in this liquid metal.
The oxide of arsenic is unusual in that it has the smell of garlic when heated. Obviously it would not be used for this property as arsenic is a poison dependent upon the quantity and time to which one is exposed to it. Nevertheless, arsenic has found many uses in civilization. It is used in bronzing, pyrotechny (those beautiful firework displays in some countries) and for hardening and improving the sphericity of shot (When lead is dropped from a shot-tower it forms a better sphere if traces of arsenic are present. Of course this opens another can of worms, as lead shot, as used to kill ducks and geese, is claimed to be toxic when these fowl eat shot that has fallen astray in the water. Disregard the arsenic, it's the lead that's suppose to be toxic. Steel shot is now substituted, never mind that steel shot doesn't have the killing power of lead, so you have more wounded birds that go off and die someplace else.
Arsenic has a variety of other uses. It has been widely used in the production of glass. (Many other metals have found their way into glass works to improve working temperatures, color, resistance to shattering, &c. Gold gives stained glass that beautiful red color that is so striking in many a religious scene.)
Since arsenic is toxic to insects, its use as a wood preservative has been wide spread. It also has been used in agricultural pesticides (MSMA and DSMA are acronyms for arsenic compounds used in cotton culture to selectively control weeds.)
Until the 1960's arsenic was used to supplement livestock feeds to improve conversion. Those beautiful "fat" steers in livestock shows were once fed arsenic in hopes of reducing their metabolic rate and thus increasing the deposition of fat. Of course that was at a low dose, at higher doses arsenic may be used to get rid of rats or perhaps an unwanted friend or relative. Alas, arsenic gives itself away because it being a metal, remains long after the death of the target. Traces are found in the hair, fingernails and other tissues. Recently it was discovered that tissue samples from old Beethoven contains residues of arsenic. Before jumping to the conclusion that he was poisoned, it is better to assume that he consumed one of the tonics of the day which contained arsenic. Along with arsenic; mercury, sugar of lead (lead acetate), and other metals were the vogue in nostrums to cure all that ailed mankind.(a) Visiting the book by H. G. Wells, Tono Bungay, or looking at one of the Materia Medica of the 1700 - 1800's is certainly enlightening. But that was yesterday, today we are concerned with arsenic as a poison.
Can you avoid arsenic? Probably; if you avoid seafood, vegetables, meat and don't drink water (whoops, there's nothing left!).
A more reasoned approach is necessary. First, since arsenic has a plethora of uses it is advisable to know how the user limits exposure to the metal and its compounds. It is only prudent that monitoring, which in any event is taking place, be documented so that in the rare instance that some untoward event occurs, possibly endangering the environment, immediate measures can be taken to limit spread beyond the site of the accident.
Second, where preliminary determinations find that there is a major presence of arsenic, then a more careful study of the area is necessary. If there is a risk to people (small children and adults as well) coming in contact with arsenic, it is only prudent that they, in some way, be kept away from the site.
Third, if the contamination poses a health hazard, clean-up is in order. But before this takes place, it should be considered whether removal of the higher than normal level of arsenic is necessary. It may be better to simply contain the site with appropriate measures, as example; covering with a layer of dirt, and let the sleeping dog lie. Packing contaminated soil in metal or plastic drums and transporting them to some other area should be considered only in as a last resort. In an attempt to clean up arsenic from a contaminated site, it is possible that it will be spread in the water, soil and air which can produce greater contamination than leaving it alone.
Fourth, may be the easiest solution of all. If arsenic contamination is in the form of glass or some other long lived form, forget about it. The danger is almost nonexistent and there is more danger in wounding ones self on a shard of glass and bleeding to death than from arsenic poisoning.
In all cases, reason should prevail. It makes no sense, to joust with the windmill of arsenic contamination when it is no problem at all. There are greater menaces to civilized life.
And, remember, Theophrastus Phillippus Areolus Bombastus von Hohenheim, a.k.a., Paracelus, (1493-1541) who may be called the father of the use of metals in medicine, is said to have written, "All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy."
**
Here's a brief list of metals and their salts that have been used in
medicine:
calomel (mercurous chloride) for syphilis among other diseases,
blue vitriol a.k.a., copper sulfate (as a nervine and antispasmodic in
epilepsy),
lead acetate (cholera),
alum (for typhoid fever),
potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate (still used by some for stomach
distress),
magnesia (remember Phillip's Milk of Magnesia),
iron compounds (Check out your local "Natural" products shelf),
silver nitrate (still used to treat the eyes of the new born),
zinc chloride (spasmodic disease, eg., whooping cough),
chlorate of potash,
gold (treatment for rheumatoid arthritis),
lithium (treatment of mental illness),
cisplatinum (chemotherapy against some cancers),
sulfur (once combined with molasses for worms),
iodine (remember iodinized salt(?)), potassium iodide (in the case of a nuclear disaster to protect the thyroid gland,
potassium bromide,
borax,
barium (to treat tuberculosis, a.k.a. scrofula),
calcium (remember to drink your milk),
antimony (as an emetic and laxative),
bismuth (to calm an over active stomach),
selenium (current feed additive).
Historic Reference: Pererira's Materia Medica and Therapeutics, Henry C. Lea, 1866
****
Joe Wortham's Home Page , About Joe Wortham , Directory
Comments(?) [email protected]