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Arsenic and Water Quality Challenges in South America

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Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions

Abstract

The presence of arsenic in soils and water is a threat to public health and agricultural activities because this toxic element poses contamination risks to plants, animals, and humans. Central Argentina (northern area of department of Union, province of Córdoba) and northern Chile, (El Loa, II Region de Antofagasta) are two of the areas most affected in the world and are representative of the arsenic contamination problem in arid and semiarid regions in South America. In both areas, arsenic levels in water are above the World Health Organization guidelines for human consumption (10 μg/L), and health effects in both sites have different manifestations. Nevertheless, the general trend in epidemiological studies is to find a relationship between chronic arsenic ingestion and cancer occurrence. Scarce data are available in most regions of South America. Environmental monitoring is not a common practice in many countries and should be implemented to verify that current environmental quality norms are met, carry out baseline studies to obtain the necessary data for developing contamination control tools, and estimate the population’s exposure to arsenic. Conveying information to the population about arsenic water contamination and possible solutions is central to overcoming the problem.

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Acknowledgments

These results reflect the work carried out by the project ARSLAND (Sustainable Management of Arsenic Contaminated Water and Soil in Rural Areas in Latin America, INCO 015114, http://www.arsland.net). Special thanks go to Viviana Urtuvia Gatica and Cecilia Demergaso Semenzato, Centro de Biotecnología; Prof. Alberto Ruiz, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile; and partners of ARSLAND.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios del Agua, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alejo Pérez-Carrera

  2. Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios del Agua, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alejo Pérez-Carrera & Alicia Fernández Cirelli (Professor and Director)

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  1. Alejo Pérez-Carrera
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  2. Alicia Fernández Cirelli
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  1. GDR CNRS 2524 Res-Eau-Ville, rue Saint Guillaume 28, Paris, 75007, France

    Graciela Schneier-Madanes

  2. Dépt. Sciences Humaines et Sociales, CNRS, rue Michel-Ange 3, Paris CX 16, 75794, France

    Marie-Francoise Courel

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Pérez-Carrera, A., Fernández Cirelli, A. (2010). Arsenic and Water Quality Challenges in South America. In: Schneier-Madanes, G., Courel, MF. (eds) Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2776-4_17

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