Research Paper On Arsenic

ADME

1. The most common route of exposure to Arsenic: The primary routes of arsenic exposure are ingestion (about 80%) (Vahter, 2002) and inhalation. Ingestion most commonly occurs through consumption of food and water containing arsenic. Inhalation commonly occurs from the following sources: naphthalene containing moth repellents and tobacco smoke. The less common route of exposure is the dermal route, e.g. dermal contact when handling preserved wood products containing arsenic (Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, 2010).

2. Distribution of Arsenic: After absorption, arsenic is widely distributed by the blood throughout the body. Distribution of arsenic to the spleen, liver, kidneys, heart and lungs usually occurs within 24

This pollutant can also occur in industries such as coking plants, creosote impregnation, distillation of coal tar and naphthalene, manufacture of refractories, graphite electrodes, aluminum and mothballs. Humans can also be exposed to naphthalene from a cigarette smoke. Naphthalene had long been considered a non-carcinogenic compound, however, in the year 2000, the US National Toxicology Program discovered an evidence of the carcinogenic activity of naphthalene. Since then, many international agencies have added naphthalene to the list of potential human carcinogens (Preuss, Angerer, & Drexler, 2003).

There are various adverse effects, or endpoints, associated with exposure to naphthalene, some of them are cancerous and others are not. According to the study by Jia and Batterman (2010), the major non-cancer endpoints are hyperplasia and metaplasia in respiratory and olphactory epithelium. The cancer endpoints are nasal tumors (Jia & Batterman, 2010). The other critical effect, according to the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), is the decreased mean terminal body weight in males which is not a result of decreased food consumption (Toxnet Toxicology Data Network