Ng Jack C, Wang Jianping, Shraim Amjad
National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Brisbane, Queensland 4108, Australia.
Chemosphere. 2003 Sep;52(9):1353-9. doi: 10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00470-3.
Arsenic is a carcinogen to both humans and animals. Arsenicals have been associated with cancers of the skin, lung, and bladder. Clinical manifestations of chronic arsenic poisoning include non-cancer end point of hyper- and hypo-pigmentation, keratosis, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Epidemiological evidence indicates that arsenic concentration exceeding 50 microg l(-1) in the drinking water is not public health protective. The current WHO recommended guideline value for arsenic in drinking water is 10 microg l(-1), whereas many developing countries are still having a value of 50 microg l(-1). It has been estimated that tens of millions of people are at risk exposing to excessive levels of arsenic from both contaminated water and arsenic-bearing coal from natural sources. The global health implication and possible intervention strategies were also discussed in this review article.
砷对人类和动物都是致癌物。砷化合物与皮肤癌、肺癌和膀胱癌有关。慢性砷中毒的临床表现包括色素沉着过多和过少、角化病、高血压、心血管疾病和糖尿病等非癌症终点。流行病学证据表明，饮用水中砷浓度超过50微克/升对公众健康没有保护作用。世界卫生组织目前推荐的饮用水中砷的指导值为10微克/升，而许多发展中国家的该值仍为50微克/升。据估计，数千万人面临着因受污染的水和天然来源的含砷煤而接触过量砷的风险。这篇综述文章还讨论了全球健康影响及可能的干预策略。
