The global menace of arsenic and its conventional remediation - A critical review

Long-term exposure of immortalized keratinocytes to arsenic induces EMT, impairs differentiation in organotypic skin models and mimics aspects of human skin derangements

“…Besides, irrigation of rice fields with arsenic-contaminated groundwater can also result in chronic arsenic exposure in individuals with nutritional habits heavily based on rice (Gousul Azam et al 2016;Halder et al 2012). Overall, inorganic As(III) (e.g., arsenic trioxide, ATO) is the strongest arsenic-based toxin in humans (Sarkar and Paul 2016) and chronic exposure is known to damage a broad range of organ systems in a time-and dose-dependent manner, a condition which is known as arsenicosis (Hunt et al 2014;Sarkar and Paul 2016;Schuhmacher-Wolz et al 2009). Thus, individuals suffering from chronic arsenic poisoning experience cardiotoxicity (typically accelerated arteriosclerosis) and enhanced susceptibility to pulmonary infections such as tuberculosis (Hunt et al 2014;Smith et al 2011).…”

“…Arsenic (As) is one of the best known human carcinogens and among the most common environmental pollutants (Sarkar and Paul 2016). Due to its high abundance in the earth crust, there are several regions where high arsenic concentrations in soil and (ground) water represent a significant threat to human health.…”

“…Thus, it is currently estimated that more than 200 million people are at risk of toxic arsenic exposure (Hunt et al 2014), of which around 20-45 million people are living in Bangladesh (Hunt et al 2014;Sen and Biswas 2013;Smith et al 2000). However, the list of areas at high risk includes besides alluviums of the Indian states also parts of diverse other countries like Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam as well as the European Union, Canada, the USA and several Latin American regions including Chile, Northern and Central Mexico as well as Brazil (Sarkar and Paul 2016).…”

Development and treatment procedure of arsenic-contaminated water using a new and green chitosan sorbent: kinetic, isotherm, thermodynamic and dynamic studies

“…Traditional remediation techniques such as coagulation, precipitation, ion exchange, and membrane separation are available to remove arsenic from water [6][7][8][9]. However, most of them present major disadvantages with incomplete metal recovery, high capital and operation costs, and/or sludge disposal problems [10].…”

“…Arsenic is affecting people living in developing as well as in industrialized countries. Arsenic contamination can attain concentrations up to 5 mg L −1 and affects population of several countries like Bangladesh, China, India, Mexico, Spain and Vietnam [2,[5][6][7].…”