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.
Breathing high levels of inorganic arsenic can give you a sore throat or irritated lungs.
Ingesting very high levels of arsenic can result in death. Exposure to lower levels can cause nausea and vomiting, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, damage to blood vessels, and a sensation of “pins and needles” in hands and feet.
Ingesting or breathing low levels of inorganic arsenic for a long time can cause a darkening of the skin and the appearance of small “corns” or “warts” on the palms, soles, and torso.
Plastic pollution is increasingly being recognized as more than an environmental problem. Tiny plastic particles can enter living organisms, circulate through biological systems, and potentially reach reproductive tissues.
Researchers compared urinary trace-metal profiles across 666 adults from six ethnic groups in three US cohorts, with up to 19 elements measured and paired serum measurements available for the Asian Indian MASALA cohort. Distinct metal patterns emerged across populations, with the findings suggesting that diet, drinking-water sources, regional hydrogeology, urban-rural conditions, smoking, and physiological handling may all contribute to differences in exposure profiles.
Researchers analyzing 60 best-selling online teas in China found that concentrations of six harmful elements remained within Chinese national limits and modeled noncarcinogenic risks were below concern thresholds.
Machine learning maps suggest that about 180 to 220 million people may rely on untreated groundwater with manganese above the WHO’s updated 80 µg/L guideline. The study places manganese exposure on a similar global scale to arsenic and fluoride, yet shows it remains far less visible in groundwater monitoring.
Children aged less than five years face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food than older children and adults, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Public health experts estimate that more than 200 million people worldwide are exposed to arsenic through contaminated drinking water. Scientists know long-term exposure to arsenic is associated with increased risk of chronic illnesses like cancer and cardiovascular disease, but there hasn't been a reliable way to track these exposures and fully understand their effects on the body and the mechanisms behind them.
Study shows reusable masks may leach harmful metals into aquatic environments, emphasizing the environmental risks of metal nanoparticles in manufacturing.
Sleeping sickness has been killing people across Africa for generations. A disease with no vaccine, spread by the bite of a tsetse fly, it was once treated with injections of an arsenic derivative, a cure that could be as dangerous as the illness itself.
Researchers argue that exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) may affect cognitive function and intelligence, potentially causing large population-level losses in global IQ. Using modelling based on published exposure–response data, the authors estimate that pollution could be associated with tens of billions of IQ points lost worldwide, with the largest impacts in lower-income regions.
The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted a positive opinion to Acoziborole Winthrop (acoziborole) as a single-dose oral treatment for both early- and advanced-stage gambiense sleeping sickness in adults as well as in adolescents 12 years and older weighing at least 40 kilograms.
Every day, the Ohio River sends billions of gallons of water flowing past Louisville's pumping station, where the Kentucky city's utility sucks it up to turn it into tap water.
Electronic cigarettes - or vapes - can release puffs of vapor in aromatic clouds. The health risks of breathing in this secondhand or passive vapor aren't fully understood.
A research team led by Professor Yuan Li at Nanjing Medical University published a research paper entitled "A Cigarette Compound-Induced Tumor Microenvironment Promotes Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma via the 14-3-3η-Modified Tumor-Associated Proteome" in the Chinese Medical Journal.
The study examines groundwater chemistry's role in children's lead exposure, stressing the importance of monitoring and effective water treatment strategies.
This scoping review found that more than 60 percent of infant formulas and baby foods worldwide contain detectable levels of cadmium, lead, and arsenic, with mercury present in more than 30 percent of products. The highest concentrations and regulatory exceedances occurred in baby foods containing fish, rice, and cereals, underscoring persistent global safety gaps.
A new 20-year study of nearly 11,000 adults in Bangladesh found that lowering arsenic levels in drinking water was associated with up to a 50 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses, compared with continued exposure.
Sunlight is vital for human health as it helps the body produce essential nutrients, such as vitamin D. However, too much sun exposure can significantly increase the risk of skin cancer.
While metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is associated with obesity, the cause of its rapidly rising prevalence is not well understood.
The study reveals a fourfold increase in hypertension risk for children in e-waste regions, emphasizing the health impacts of toxic environmental pollutants.
There has been a rapid increase in the global number of cancer cases and deaths between 1990 and 2023, despite advances in cancer treatment and efforts to tackle cancer risk factors over that same time period.
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