Indoor dryness and humidification‐induced arsenic inhalation exposure above 4200 m in Ngari, China

Abstract

The Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, with Shiquanhe Town, Gar County, as its administrative center, is an ultrahigh-altitude region, standing at 4273 m above sea level. Its local pressure and air oxygen content are 0.6 atm and ~12.5%, respectively.Native Tibetans in Ngari Prefecture are better acclimatized to the high-altitude low-oxygen environment owing to heredity and gene expression. 1,2 However, the ultrahigh-altitude environment can induce hypobaric hypoxia in newcomers from the plains (such as cadres sent to aid Tibet and garrison troops), which can considerably alter their cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. According to previous studies, high-altitude pulmonary edema is the most important respiratory disease associated with acute (for hours to days) high-altitude exposure. Chronic mountain sickness and high-altitude pulmonary hypertension are maladaptive responses to chronic (for

Phytoreactor for Arsenic Biodetoxification: An Integrated Sequential Process of Phytoremediation Involving Multi-Kingdom Organisms

“…The air humidity factor affects the accumulacon of arsenic, which increases with room humidity. The problem occurs in residencal areas, where humidifiers filled with tap water produce arsenic concentracons four cmes higher than the arsenic standard in drinking water [41]. The result explains that arsenic is a metalloid substance that dissolves easily in water.…”