ATSDR Public Health Statement for Arsenic

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, September 2000

Arsenic poses a significant health risk to humans.

Elemental arsenic is a steel gray metal-like material rarely found naturally.

As a compound with other elements such as oxygen, chlorine and sulfur, arsenic is widely distributed throughout the earth's crust, especially in minerals and ores that contain copper or lead. Arsenic in groundwater is largely the result of dissolved minerals from weathered rocks and soils.

All arsenic metal and compounds consumed in the United States are imported. Most of the arsenic has been used for the production of chromated copper arsenate, a preservative that renders wood resistant to rotting and decay.

Industrial products containing arsenic include lead-acid batteries, light-emitting diodes, paints, dyes, metals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides, soaps and semiconductors. Man-made sources of arsenic in the environment include mining and smelting operations, agricultural applications, and disposal of wastes that contain arsenic.

Arsenic is a contaminant of concern at many remediation sites. Because arsenic readily changes valence states and reacts to form species with varying toxicity and mobility, effective treatment of arsenic can be challenging