Learn more: PMC Disclaimer | PMC Copyright Notice
Chronic arsenic poisoning from burning high-arsenic-containing coal in Guizhou, China.
Abstract
Arsenic is an environmental hazard and the reduction of drinking water arsenic levels is under consideration. People are exposed to arsenic not only through drinking water but also through arsenic-contaminated air and food. Here we report the health effects of arsenic exposure from burning high arsenic-containing coal in Guizhou, China. Coal in this region has undergone mineralization and thus produces high concentrations of arsenic. Coal is burned inside the home in open pits for daily cooking and crop drying, producing a high concentration of arsenic in indoor air. Arsenic in the air coats and permeates food being dried producing high concentrations in food; however, arsenic concentrations in the drinking water are in the normal range. The estimated sources of total arsenic exposure in this area are from arsenic-contaminated food (50-80%), air (10-20%), water (1-5%), and direct contact in coal-mining workers (1%). At least 3,000 patients with arsenic poisoning were found in the Southwest Prefecture of Guizhou, and approximately 200,000 people are at risk for such overexposures. Skin lesions are common, including keratosis of the hands and feet, pigmentation on the trunk, skin ulceration, and skin cancers. Toxicities to internal organs, including lung dysfunction, neuropathy, and nephrotoxicity, are clinically evident. The prevalence of hepatomegaly was 20%, and cirrhosis, ascites, and liver cancer are the most serious outcomes of arsenic poisoning. The Chinese government and international organizations are attempting to improve the house conditions and the coal source, and thereby protect human health in this area.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.0M).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Abernathy CO, Liu YP, Longfellow D, Aposhian HV, Beck B, Fowler B, Goyer R, Menzer R, Rossman T, Thompson C, et al. Arsenic: health effects, mechanisms of actions, and research issues. Environ Health Perspect. 1999 Jul;107(7):593–597. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zhou DX. [Investigation of chronic arsenic poisoning caused by high arsenic coal pollution]. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 1993 May;27(3):147–150. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Finkelman RB, Belkin HE, Zheng B. Health impacts of domestic coal use in China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Mar 30;96(7):3427–3431. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Liu J, Liu Y, Habeebu SM, Waalkes MP, Klaassen CD. Chronic combined exposure to cadmium and arsenic exacerbates nephrotoxicity, particularly in metallothionein-I/II null mice. Toxicology. 2000 Jul 5;147(3):157–166. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Madden EF, Fowler BA. Mechanisms of nephrotoxicity from metal combinations: a review. Drug Chem Toxicol. 2000 Feb;23(1):1–12. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tully DB, Collins BJ, Overstreet JD, Smith CS, Dinse GE, Mumtaz MM, Chapin RE. Effects of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead on gene expression regulated by a battery of 13 different promoters in recombinant HepG2 cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2000 Oct 15;168(2):79–90. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mazumder DN, Das Gupta J, Santra A, Pal A, Ghose A, Sarkar S. Chronic arsenic toxicity in west Bengal--the worst calamity in the world. J Indian Med Assoc. 1998 Jan;96(1):4–18. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ito Y, Matsui T, Kamiya A, Kinoshita T, Miyajima A. Retroviral gene transfer of signaling molecules into murine fetal hepatocytes defines distinct roles for the STAT3 and ras pathways during hepatic development. Hepatology. 2000 Dec;32(6):1370–1376. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lu T, Liu J, LeCluyse EL, Zhou YS, Cheng ML, Waalkes MP. Application of cDNA microarray to the study of arsenic-induced liver diseases in the population of Guizhou, China. Toxicol Sci. 2001 Jan;59(1):185–192. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Santra A, Maiti A, Das S, Lahiri S, Charkaborty SK, Mazumder DN. Hepatic damage caused by chronic arsenic toxicity in experimental animals. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 2000;38(4):395–405. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Liu J, Liu Y, Goyer RA, Achanzar W, Waalkes MP. Metallothionein-I/II null mice are more sensitive than wild-type mice to the hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic effects of chronic oral or injected inorganic arsenicals. Toxicol Sci. 2000 Jun;55(2):460–467. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Waalkes MP, Keefer LK, Diwan BA. Induction of proliferative lesions of the uterus, testes, and liver in swiss mice given repeated injections of sodium arsenate: possible estrogenic mode of action. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2000 Jul 1;166(1):24–35. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chen H, Liu J, Merrick BA, Waalkes MP. Genetic events associated with arsenic-induced malignant transformation: applications of cDNA microarray technology. Mol Carcinog. 2001 Feb;30(2):79–87. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chowdhury UK, Biswas BK, Chowdhury TR, Samanta G, Mandal BK, Basu GC, Chanda CR, Lodh D, Saha KC, Mukherjee SK, et al. Groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. Environ Health Perspect. 2000 May;108(5):393–397. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]