Scientific Facts on
Arsenic
Arsenic Links
- Factual links
Some of the websites providing reliable scientific information on Arsenic :
- Other Views
1. Factual links
1.1 Some general information on arsenic
-
Case study on arsenic by the American Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR):
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/CSEM/arsenic/index.html
(2003).
-
Questions & answers on arsenic from the Dartmouth College Toxic Metals
Research Program at:
www.dartmouth.edu/~toxmetal/TXQAas.shtml

-
General data on arsenic properties from the Australia A
to Z of Materials website (AZoM) at: www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1840

-
The Sustainable Development Networking Program for
Bangladesh (SDNP) answers FAQs:
www.sdnbd.org/sdi/issues/arsenic/articles/arsenic%20faq.htm

1.2 Information about arsenic in drinking water
-
The World Health Organization (WHO) extensively
addresses arsenic in drinking water at:
www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/arsenic/en/
, including a discussion paper on health risk substitution in arsenic mitigation
and a factsheet on arsenic in drinking water

-
FAQs on arsenic in drinking water from the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NPWA) at:
www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qarsenic.asp

-
health canada addresses
arsenic in drinking water at:
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/environ/arsenic_e.html

-
The Arsenic Crisis Information Centre (ACIC) extensively covers
water pollution in Bangladesh and provides many links at:
http://bicn.com/acic/

-
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) addresses
arsenic poisoning through drinking water from groundwater sources at:
www.unescap.org/esd/water/groundwater/arsenic/index.asp

-
The Winsconsin's Arsenic in Drinking Water &
Groundwater information page
(WDNR) at: www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/arsenic/
1.3 Information about other possible sources of exposure to arsenic
-
A factsheet on arsenic in the diet of the UK Food
Standards Agency (FSA) at:
www.foodstandards.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis5104arsenic

-
A US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) fact sheet on
general aspects of arsenic, with a particular focus on
inhalation at:
www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/arsenic.html

-
The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) provides extensive
information on chromated copper arsenate and its use as
wood preservative at:
www.epa.gov/oppad001/reregistration/cca/

-
The European Commission held
a public consultation on the use of arsenic in the
preservation of wood at: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/chemicals/legislation/markrestr/arsenic/

1.4 Some arsenic news sites
-
The Environmental Health Perspective journal of the US
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) provides
"Environews" on arsenic at:
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/topic/arsenic.html

-
The London Arsenic Group (LAG) from the University
College London provides news on arsenic picked up from
the press at: www.es.ucl.ac.uk/research/lag/as/

1.5 Some policy-related websites
-
The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) standard for arsenic
in drinking water at:
www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic

-
The European Commission
Directive relating to restrictions on the marketing and
use of arsenic at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu
-
An article on the evolution of recent policies regarding
arsenic in the United States from the American Chemical
Society (American Chemical Society) at:
www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_pol.html

2. Other Views
Links in this section have been selected as examples of other views on Arsenic. This list of links is only a sample and it is not suggested that it is complete nor that it is fully representative of all the existing views. GreenFacts asbl takes no position concerning the views expressed in these linked documents.
Some of the sites suggesting that arsenic poses less risk
- The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) concludes that "there is little, if any, evidence of a detrimental health effect in humans from inorganic arsenic in drinking water at the current MCL of 50 µg/L or below, either in the United States or elsewhere.":
www.acsh.org/healthissues/
.
- The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) "applauds the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s unanimous decision (...) not to ban the pesticide, chromated copper arsenate, in playground equipment." It states that "for more than 70 years, wood treated with the preservative that includes trace levels of arsenic has been used in commercial and residential products without ill health effects. The chemical prevents decay and insect damage."
www.cei.org/gencon/003,03739.cfm



