Write An Essay On Arsenic Pollution

Unlike mercury and lead, arsenic is a metalloid; and in some food source; like rice; the biggest problem. Arsenic is toxic and carcinogenic, it is highly abundant in nature with a mean availability of 5mg/kg soil within earth’s crust (Manvi Singh, 2013). One of the reason arsenic is abundant in the soil and water is because of mining of coal and other metals. Therefore arsenic contamination has a widespread reach, in regards to food consumption it not only contaminates sea-based food, but also land-based. Arsenic by soil and water contamination therefore can lead to a direct contamination in agricultural practices and provide health risks.

Arsenic occurs in both organic and inorganic forms, most of the organic form of arsenic occurs in sea

Generally those regions belong to South Asia, Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia. This arsenic contamination provides a multiple layered threat to further contamination on food chain. With crops, the contamination of arsenic is through intake from the soil itself and then compounded with contaminated water that is used for irrigation. When it reaches the population, in arsenic contaminated region, the threat is also increased not only from the crops but also from contaminated water used for drinking and cooking

A good bioindicator for arsenic pollution; including anthropogenic and natural pollution; which has been proposed by several researchers in the form of honey (Bastías et al., 2013). Within the same research by Bastías et al., health risks has been put under consideration for consumption of honey. Honey, being a food product if found to have high level arsenic concentration may lead to be unsafe for consumption. Calculation done by Bastías et al. shows that even with the sample containing the highest concentration of arsenic, a five kg of honey needs to be consumed before it reaches the level of arsenic that is unsafe for