Medawar Institute for Medical and Environmental Research, Acangaú Valley, Paracatu-MG, Brazil.
Sci Total Environ. 2010 Mar 15;408(8):1842-6. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.01.027. Epub 2010 Feb 2.
Anthropogenic arsenic is insidiously building up together with natural arsenic to a level unprecedented in the history of mankind. Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) is the principal ore of arsenic and gold in hard rock mines; it is formed by a coupled substitution of sulphur by arsenic in the structure of pyrite (FeS(2)) - nicknamed "fool's gold". Other important sources of anthropogenic arsenic are fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Here I report on the first indication that the environmental concentration of total arsenic in topsoils - in the 7-18ppm range - is exponentially related to the prevalence and mortality of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in European countries. This evidence defies the imputed absence of verified cases of human morbidity or mortality resulting from exposure to low-level arsenic in topsoils.
人为砷与自然砷一起悄然积累，达到了人类历史上前所未有的水平。砷黄铁矿 (FeAsS) 是硬岩矿山中砷和金的主要矿石；它是由黄铁矿 (FeS(2)) 结构中硫被砷取代形成的，黄铁矿俗称“愚人金”。人为砷的其他重要来源是煤炭和石油等化石燃料。在这里，我报告了第一个迹象，即表土中总砷的环境浓度（7-18ppm 范围内）与欧洲国家阿尔茨海默病和其他痴呆症的患病率和死亡率呈指数相关。这一证据驳斥了人们认为接触表土中低水平砷不会导致人类发病率或死亡率的说法。
