ARSENIC (BLOOD)

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element widely distributed in the earth's crust. In the environment, arsenic is combined with oxygen, chlorine, and sulfur to form inorganic arsenic compounds.

Arsenic in animals and plants combines with carbon and hydrogen to form organic arsenic compounds.

Below arecommon products and uses of arsenic.

Commercial products
• antifouling paints
• cattle and sheep dips
• cotton desiccants
• fire salts (multicolored flame)
• fungicides
• herbicides (weed killers and defoliants)
• insecticides
• leaded gasoline
• paints and pigments
• wood preservatives

Industrial processes
• bronze plating
• clarifying glass and ceramics
• electronics manufacturing (microwave devices, lasers, light-emitting diodes, photoelectric cells, and semiconductor devices)
• hardening metal alloys
• preserving animal hides
• purifying industrial gases (removal of sulfur)

Medicines and remedies
• Antiparasitic drugs (carbasone - C7H9AsN2O4)
• Donovan's solution (arsenic triiodide - AsI3)
• Folk remedies ("Asiatic pill," kushtay, yellow root)
• Fowler's solution (1% solution of potassium arsenite – [K3AsO3])
• Kelp-containing health foods
• Some naturopathic remedies