1. By: Vinny Lingenfelter

2.  Name: Arsenic  Symbol: As

3.  Sources: ground water, mineral ore, geothermal processes.  Industrial: algaecides,  desiccants used in mechanical cotton harvesting,  glass manufacturing,  herbicides (such as weed killers for telephone and railroad posts and Agent Blue, which was used by U.S. troops in Vietnam), and  nonferrous alloys [Garcia-Vargas and Cebrian 1996].

4.  Arsenic exposure is usually associated with suicide, malicious intent, homicide, or occupational exposure. A detailed history to determine the exposure includes the following:  Clinical effects of arsenic toxicity depend on the chronicity (eg, acute, chronic) and type of poisoning (eg, arsenic, trivalent arsenic, arsine gas). Frequently, patients exposed to arsenic have a garlic smell to their breath and tissue fluids.  Acute severe arsenic poisoning manifests with the following signs and symptoms:  Tachycardia, hypotension, and even shock  Altered mental status, delirium, coma, seizures (acute encephalopathy)  Trivalent arsenic poisoning manifests with the following signs and symptoms:  Acute exposure: Cholera-like gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms of vomiting (often bloody) and severe diarrhea

5.  http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/812 953-overview http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/812 953-overview  http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?cs em=1&po=5 http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?cs em=1&po=5  http://water.epa.gov/drink/index.cfm http://water.epa.gov/drink/index.cfm