Arsenic in Drinking Water and Diabetes

Abstract

Arsenic is ubiquitous in soil and water environments and is consistently at the top of the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry (ATSDR) substance priority list. It has been shown to induce toxicity even at low levels of exposure. One of the major routes of exposure to arsenic is through drinking water. This review presents current information related to the distribution of arsenic in the environment, the resultant impacts on human health, especially related to diabetes, which is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases, regulation of arsenic in drinking water, and approaches for treatment of arsenic in drinking water for both public utilities and private wells. Taken together, this information points out the existing challenges to understanding both the complex health impacts of arsenic and to implementing the treatment strategies needed to effectively reduce arsenic exposure at different scales.

Functionalization of Defective Zr Metal–Organic Frameworks for Water Decontamination: Mechanistic Insight into the Competitive Roles of -NH2 and -SH Sites in Removal of As(III) Species

“…Weathering, geochemical reactions, and volcanic emissions are other natural activities that are responsible for arsenic contamination . Anthropogenic sources of environmental arsenic contamination are the production of pesticides, herbicides, and crop desiccants, the combustion of fossil fuels, the hydrometallurgy of natural ores, and the semiconductor industry. − The significance of these contents is particularly clear when one considers that arsenic, especially inorganic species, can accumulate in water resources, the food chain, and the human body, which poses a serious threat to wildlife and human health . Depending on the exposure time and concentration of arsenic, various serious effects on human health will be observed.…”

“…1 Arsenic can be found in the chemical composition of some mineral ores like arsenian pyrite, arsenopyrite, and scorodite. 2 Weathering, geochemical reactions, and volcanic emissions are other natural activities that are responsible for arsenic contamination. 1 Anthropogenic sources of environmental arsenic contamination are the production of pesticides, herbicides, and crop desiccants, the combustion of fossil fuels, the hydrometallurgy of natural ores, and the semiconductor industry.…”

“…The contamination of natural resources by arsenic occurs due to biological and anthropogenic activities . Arsenic can be found in the chemical composition of some mineral ores like arsenian pyrite, arsenopyrite, and scorodite . Weathering, geochemical reactions, and volcanic emissions are other natural activities that are responsible for arsenic contamination .…”

“…Depending on the exposure time and concentration of arsenic, various serious effects on human health will be observed. Upon exposure to contaminated water with low concentrations of arsenic, skin lesions, circulatory disorders, neurological complications, diabetes, respiratory complications, and hepatic and renal dysfunction can be observed, while exposure to high concentrations for long periods of time leads to fatal damage to digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular, hematopoietic, endocrine, renal, neurological, and reproductive systems and related cancers. − Consequently, different organizations like the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and World Health Organization (WHO) consider arsenic as a primary poisonous substance. − These facts require the urgent development of technologies suitable for the removal of arsenic from wastewater and natural resources.…”

“…Different methods were applied to remove arsenic contaminants from water, such as ion-exchange systems, electrocoagulation–precipitation, membrane technologies (especially reverse osmosis and electrodialysis), chemical oxidation, and adsorption technologies. − Each one of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, but among them, adsorption has attracted a great deal of attention recently . Different kinds of adsorbents such as activated carbon, activated alumina, polymeric adsorbents, and magnetic nanoparticles were applied in this regard, but they suffer from some disadvantageous like low capacity due to the small surface area, low affinity, low reusability, and regeneration for subsequent cycles. − These challenges indicate that removal with the mentioned adsorbents can be applied for only contaminated water sources with a low concentration of arsenic. To overcome this limitation, adsorbents with a large surface area and optimized affinity for arsenic that can be regenerated for several cycles are required.…”