Arsenic: A Deadlier Neighbor between Us

By

Kadiatou Diallo

Professor Letitia Mongomery

September, 2010

Arsenic: A Deadly Neighbor between Us

Nature includes an enormous number of elements in different states of matter. The variety of the elements allows living organisms to keep alive; however, in certain combinations, some elements show the risk of becoming poison. That is the case of Arsenic (As, is its symbol), present in the earth’s crust as the 20th most abundant element and in the human body as the 12th most abundant element (Schroeder & Balassa, 1966). Considering its massive presence in nature, Arsenic can be found in different materials and living organisms. This does not have any risk of harm, except when in certain amounts. Because of this situation arsenic can be useful but also dangerous. This element has caused numerous cases of poisoning through the history of poisonous elements, because for a long time humans were not aware about how dangerous it could be. Arsenic is known best as a deadly poison, although in small doses it does have medical benefits. Arsenic poisoning can be reviewed related to the origin of this poison, its presence in different compounds, and some famous cases around the world.

Origin of Arsenic

Arsenic is a common toxic element in the environment (Goyer & Mehlman, 1977), which has a bad reputation (Emsley, 2005) among the rest of the elements due to the deadly effects that it can produce. The presence of arsenic was identified first by Albertus Magnus (1193-1280), and even though it was recognized as an element a long time after that (Emsley, 2005), there is evidence of its existence since the ancient Romans