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Arsenic Contamination from Historical Aspects to the Present

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Arsenic Contamination in the Environment

Abstract

Arsenic is a ubiquitous element (atomic number 33) that occurs either as a component of many minerals, sulfur, and metals, or as a pure element such as crystal. It has several uses in industries and medical fields. However, arsenic is also well known as “the king of poisons” and has been used for political assassination. As per the European Union under directive 67/548/EEC, elemental arsenic and arsenic compounds are classified as “toxic” and “dangerous for the environment”. It is mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic. Several organizations including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) identified arsenic and arsenic compounds as group 1 carcinogens. Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a growing concern worldwide, affecting more than 70 countries on six continents. Southeast Asian countries, especially Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, are badly affected. Considerable efforts are required and detailed consolidated studies should be undertaken to provide a comprehensive basis for understanding the causes of the problem and its variations in space and time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Radioökologie und Strahlenschutz (IRS), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, Hannover, 30419, Germany

    Dharmendra K. Gupta

  2. Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, 440020, India

    Sarita Tiwari

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    B. H. N. Razafindrabe

  4. Defence Research Laboratory, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, 2, Tezpur, 784001, Assam, India

    Soumya Chatterjee

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  1. Dharmendra K. Gupta
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  2. Sarita Tiwari
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  3. B. H. N. Razafindrabe
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  4. Soumya Chatterjee
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Correspondence to Dharmendra K. Gupta .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Radioecology and Radiation Protection (IRS), University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany

    Dharmendra Kumar Gupta

  2. Defence Research Laboratory, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Tezpur, Assam, India

    Soumya Chatterjee

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Gupta, D.K., Tiwari, S., Razafindrabe, B.H.N., Chatterjee, S. (2017). Arsenic Contamination from Historical Aspects to the Present. In: Gupta, D., Chatterjee, S. (eds) Arsenic Contamination in the Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54356-7_1

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