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PubMed2005

Effect of cysteine, methionine, ascorbic acid and thiamine on arsenic-induced oxidative stress and biochemical alterations in rats.

Oxidative stress due to enhanced production of free radicals has been incriminated as one of the several mechanisms involved in arsenic-induced toxic effects in different organs. In the present study, ameliorative potential of certain amino acids like cysteine, methionine and vitamins like ascorbic acid and thiamine on some of the parameters indicative of oxidative stress in liver, kidney and blood and of hepatic and renal infliction was investigated in arsenic exposed rats. Rats were given 0 ppm (group I healthy controls) or 10 ppm arsenic in drinking water ad lib for a period of 12 weeks. During oral exposure to arsenic rats of different groups received daily oral dose of placebo, cysteine, methionine, ascorbic acid or thiamine at 25mg/kg body weight. After the end of the experimental period, animals were sacrificed under light anesthesia and blood, liver and kidney were collected. Samples were processed for estimation of arsenic, biochemical parameters indicative of oxidative stress and hepatic and renal function. Arsenic exposure resulted in significantly (P<0.05) higher accumulation of arsenic in blood, liver and kidney. It was associated with significant (P<0.05) rise in lipid peroxide level and decrease in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in liver and kidneys. However, alterations in biochemical parameters did not reach statistical (P>0.05) significance. Treatment with vitamins and amino acids resulted in reversal of oxidative stress with significant (P<0.05) decline in tissue arsenic burden. All the treatment produced tissue specific changes in lipid peroxide level, antioxidant enzyme activities and tissue arsenic burden.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed2005

Protein oxidative damage in arsenic induced rat brain: influence of DL-alpha-lipoic acid.

A body of evidence has accumulated implicating free radical generation and reaction of arsenic with protein thiols in the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of arsenic toxicity. Brain readily undergoes oxidative damage, so it is important to determine whether arsenic-induced changes in rat brain may be associated with oxidative events. An increase in oxidative stress may contribute to the development of protein damage in rat brain. Present experiments were performed to study the effect of arsenic (sodium arsenite, 100 ppm mixed in drinking water) on protein oxidation and further to demonstrate the potential of dl-alpha-lipoic acid (70 mg/kg body weight) against arsenic-induced changes in different anatomic regions (cortex, striatum, cerebellum, hypothalamus and hippocampus) of the brain of male Wistar rats. We report here that arsenic treated rats had a significantly higher level of oxidised protein as assessed by increased carbonyl residues and decreased protein thiols (protein sulfhydryls) as compared to control rats in all five regions studied, with the most notable changes occurring in the cortex, striatum and hippocampus. Coadministration of lipoic acid along with arsenic resulted in reversal of the arsenic induced trends in carbonyl and sulfhydryl concentrations. The results of the study showed, lipoic acid treatment reduces oxidative protein damage in arsenic intoxicated rat brain regions, which is associated with its antioxidant activity that combines free radical scavenging and metal chelating properties.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Well characteristics influencing arsenic concentrations in ground water.

Naturally occurring arsenic contamination is common in ground water in the upper Midwest. Arsenic is most likely to be present in glacial drift and shallow bedrock wells that lie within the footprint of northwest provenance Late Wisconsinan glacial drift. Elevated arsenic is more common in domestic wells and in monitoring wells than it is in public water system wells. Arsenic contamination is also more prevalent in domestic wells with short screens set in proximity to an upper confining unit, such as glacial till. Public water system wells have distinctly different well-construction practices and well characteristics when compared to domestic and monitoring wells. Construction practices such as exploiting a thick, coarse aquifer and installing a long well screen yield good water quantity for public water system wells. Coincidentally, these construction practices also often yield low arsenic water. Coarse aquifer materials have less surface area for adsorbing arsenic, and thus less arsenic available for potential mobilization. Wells with long screens set at a distance from an upper confining unit are at lower risk of exposure to geochemical conditions conducive to arsenic mobilization via reductive mechanisms such as reductive dissolution of metal hydroxides and reductive desorption of arsenic.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1998

Arsenic enhancement of skin neoplasia by chronic stimulation of growth factors.

Although numerous epidemiological studies have shown that inorganic arsenicals cause skin cancers and hyperkeratoses in humans, there are currently no established mechanisms for their action or animal models. Previous studies in our laboratory using primary human keratinocyte cultures demonstrated that micromolar concentrations of inorganic arsenite increased cell proliferation via the production of keratinocyte-derived growth factors. As recent reports demonstrate that overexpression of keratinocyte-derived growth factors, such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha, promote the formation of skin tumors, we hypothesized that similar events may be responsible for those associated with arsenic skin diseases. Thus, the influence of arsenic in humans with arsenic skin disease and on mouse skin tumor development in transgenic mice was studied. After low-dose application of tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA), a marked increase in the number of skin papillomas occurred in Tg.AC mice, which carry the v-Ha-ras oncogene, that received arsenic in the drinking water as compared with control drinking water, whereas no papillomas developed in arsenic-treated transgenic mice that did not receive TPA or arsenic/TPA-treated wild-type FVB/N mice. Consistent with earlier in vitro findings, increases in granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and TGF-alpha mRNA transcripts were found in the epidermis at clinically normal sites within 10 weeks after arsenic treatment. Immunohistochemical staining localized TGF-alpha overexpression to the hair follicles. Injection of neutralizing antibodies to GM-CSF after TPA application reduced the number of papillomas in Tg.AC mice. Analysis of gene expression in samples of skin lesions obtained from humans chronically exposed to arsenic via their drinking water also showed similar alterations in growth factor expression. Although confirmation will be required in nontransgenic mice, these results suggest that arsenic enhances development of skin neoplasias via the chronic stimulation of keratinocyte-derived growth factors and may be a rare example of a chemical carcinogen that acts as a co-promoter.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Solubility, retention, and metabolism of intratracheally and orally administered inorganic arsenic compounds in the hamster.

The absorption, biotransformation, and tissue retention of arsenic following intratracheal and oral administration of 74As-labeled sodium arsenite, sodium arsenate, arsenic trisulfide (suspension), and lead arsenate (suspension) have been studied in hamsters, and correlated to the in vitro and in vivo solubility of the compounds. After intratracheal instillation, the clearance of 74As from the lungs was positively correlated to the in vivo solubility. Less than 0.1% of the sodium arsenite and sodium arsenate was retained in the lungs after 3 days, compared to 1.3% of the arsenic trisulfide particles and 45% of the lead arsenate particles. The latter showed a very low solubility both in vivo and in vitro. In general, orally administered arsenic had a shorter biological half-life than intratracheally administered, especially when given in the form of arsenic trisulfide or lead arsenate particles, which seemed to be absorbed to only 20-30% in the gastrointestinal tract. Reduction, oxidation, and methylation of arsenic varied to a great extent with the arsenic compound and the route of exposure. Trivalent arsenic was methylated to a greater extent than pentavalent and less soluble compounds (suspended particles) more than dissolved compounds. The trivalent arsenic compounds caused higher concentrations than the pentavalent in the upper gastrointestinal tract but not in other tissues.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2002

Acid washing and stabilization of an artificial arsenic-contaminated soil.

An acid-washing process was studied on a laboratory scale to extract the bulk of arsenic(V) from a highly contaminated Kuroboku soil (Andosol) so as to minimize the risk of arsenic to human health and the environment. The sorption and desorption behavior of arsenic in the soil suggested the possibility of arsenic leaching under acidic conditions. Artificially contaminated Kuroboku soil (2830 mg As/kg soil) was washed with different concentrations of hydrogen fluoride, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, perchloric acid, hydrogen bromide, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, 3:1 hydrogen chloride-nitric acid, or 2:1 nitric acid-perchloric acid. Phosphoric acid proved to be most promising as an extractant, attaining 99.9% arsenic extraction at 9.4% acid concentration in 6 h. Sulfuric acid also attained high percentage extraction. The arsenic extraction by these acids reached equilibrium within 2 h. Elovich-type equation best described most of the kinetic data for dissolution of soil components as well as for extraction of arsenic. Dissolution of the soil components could be minimized by ceasing acid washing in 2 h. The acid-washed soil was further stabilized by the addition of lanthanum, cerium, and iron(III) salts or their oxides or hydroxides which form insoluble complex with arsenic. Both salts and oxides of lanthanum and cerium were effective in immobilizing arsenic in the soil attaining less than 0.01 mg/l As in the leaching test.

Acids↗
PubMed2003

Arsenic contaminated site at an abandoned copper smelter plant: waste characterization and solidification/stabilization treatment.

A preliminary survey of an arsenic contaminated site from an abandoned copper smelting facility and feasibility study of using solidification/stabilization (S/S) process to treat the contaminant waste were undertaken. It was found that the waste, located in the three-flue gas discharge tunnels, contained 2-40% arsenic. The pH of the contaminated waste is extremely low (ranging from 1.8 to 3.6). The X-ray diffraction evidence indicates that the arsenic particles present in the flue gas mainly exist as As(III), or As(2)O(3). The total amount of arsenic contaminated waste is estimated to be 700 ton in the studied area. About 50% of the particle sizes are less than 2 mm. Arsenic is easily extracted from wastes with a variety of leaching solutions. In order to meet the arsenic leaching standard of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), an extremely high cement dosage is required in the S/S process (cement/waste weight ratio>6). The waste with lower particle size having higher specific surface area exhibits somewhat positive effect on the S/S performance. The use of fly ash from municipal waste incinerators, in conjunction with the reduced amount of cement, is able to meet the TCLP arsenic and lead standards. The use of lime alone could meet the TCLP arsenic standard, but lead leaching concentrations exceeded leaching Pb standard. The results of semi-dynamic leaching tests of some solidified samples indicate higher accumulated arsenic leaching concentrations after only a few leachant renewals.

Arsenic↗
PubMed2002

Arsenic poisoning in groundwater: health risk and geochemical sources in Bangladesh.

Of the 2508 water samples analyzed in 10 districts of Bangladesh, 51%, on an average, contained arsenic levels of 0.05 to 2.50 mg/l. 95% of nail, 96% of hair, and 94% of urine samples contained arsenic above the normal level. Approximately 3.58 million people out of a total of 17.92 million who are drinking water containing arsenic levels >0.20 mg/l are potentially exposed to high risk of health hazard. Eight thousand and five hundred arsenic patients are identified; they are suffering from various skin lesions, gangrene in leg, skin, lung, bladder, liver, and renal cancer. A big portion of the total population is highly vulnerable to various internal cancers. Lowest arsenic concentration in drinking water producing dermatological disease is found to be 0.103 mg/l. However, the exposure time to develop arsenicosis varies from case to case reflecting its dependence on arsenic level in drinking water and food, nutritional status, genetic variant of human being, and compounding factors. This study has determined the high intensity of fluorescent humic substances in drinking water containing elevated concentrations of arsenic and very low concentrations of heavy metals. The synergistic/antagonistic effect of fluorescent compounds present in drinking water may aggravate the toxicity of arsenic. Geochemical study suggests that arsenic may be released from both reductive dissolution of Fe and Mn (oxy)hydroxide and microbial oxidation of organic matter.

Arsenic Poisoning↗
PubMed2002

Arsenic contamination of the environment: a new perspective from central-east India.

This paper reports a regional contamination of the environment in central-east India that does not share geology or boundary with the Bengal Delta Plain. About 30,000 people residing in 30 villages and towns are directly exposed to arsenic and more than 200,000 people are "at risk." Complete geographical extent of this contamination is being established, and this newly reported contaminated area could be quite large. This paper further reports that the mechanisms involved in arsenic mobilisation are complex and the two theories of arsenic mobilisation, i.e., pyrite oxidation and oxyhydroxides reduction, do not fully explain the high levels of arsenic contamination. This paper also proposes the "oxidation-reduction theory" for arsenic mobilisation where the arsenic originates from the arsenopyrite oxidation and the arsenic thus mobilised forms the minerals and gets reduced underground in favourable Eh conditions. The stoppage of water withdrawal from the contaminated sources did not result in lowering of arsenic levels as expected according to the heavy groundwater extraction theory (pyrite oxidation theory). Cases of arsenicosis in the region are on the rise and the switchover to less contaminated water has not reversed the arsenicosis progression in the affected persons even after 2 years. Surface water of the rivers is also being contaminated because of the probable dislocation of contaminated groundwater due to the heavy rains in monsoon season, which indicates that the river water could be a major carrier of arsenic in dissolved or adsorbed forms that may be a cause of contamination of the delta plains.

Arsenic↗
PubMed2003

A survey of arsenic species in Chinese seafood.

In the present report, thirty different types of Chinese edible seafood, including brown algae, red algae, fish, crab, shrimp, mussels, oysters, and clams, which are very popular foodstuffs in the Chinese kitchen, were examined for their total content of As as well as its different species. Total arsenic concentration in algae samples was 1.7-38.7 microg/g (dry weight), and 0.086-7.54 microg/g in fish and shellfish (wet weight), respectively. The arsenic species in seafood extracts were determined by using anion and cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Arsenosugars were detected in all of the extracted algae samples (1.5-33.8 microg/g dry weight) and fish samples (0.018-0.78 microg/g wet weight). Arsenobetaine was detected in all of the extracted fish and shellfish samples (0.025-6.604 microg/g wet weight). In contrast, inorganic arsenic in fish and shellfish samples occurred at levels below 2% of the total arsenic. No inorganic arsenic was detected in the algae samples. This study provides information about the distribution pattern of arsenic species in seafood products. Since the major share of arsenic components in seafood is organic arsenic with a low toxicity, we can conclude that arsenic in seafood does not pose any risk to human health.

Arsenicals↗
PubMed2003

Intracellular survival of Staphylococcus aureus due to alteration of cellular activity in arsenic and lead intoxicated mature Swiss albino mice.

The role of heavy metals like arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) as environmental toxicants is established. However, the exact mechanism of their effect on immunocompetent cell activity is not well known. Staphylococcus aureus is a virulent pathogen that has the ability to cause a variety of potentially life-threatening infections. The objective of our study was to demonstrate in an experimental mouse model of bacteremic S. aureus infection, bacterial clearance from blood and spleen in arsenic, lead treated and control group of mice. Bacterial density was measured in blood and spleen after 0, 24, 48 and 72 h post-infection. Our findings show a significant increase in bacterial load in blood (P<0.025 for arsenic and P<0.01 for lead) and delayed bacterial clearance by spleen in both arsenic (P<0.05) and lead (P<0.025) treated groups as compared to control, thus highlighting an immuno-compromised state following heavy metal exposure. To further elucidate immunomodulatory effects of both arsenic and lead, cell function studies were performed on splenic macrophages (M(phi)) isolated from lead and arsenic treated as well as control group of mice. Our findings show a decrease in cell adhesion property (P<0.005) of splenic M(phi)s from 2.9925+/-0.053 in control to 1.395+/-0.106 in arsenic and 0.8835+/-0.0106 in lead treated mice at 60 min. Morphologic alteration of the splenic M(phi)s showed an increase (As: P<0.05, Pb: P<0.0005) in both arsenic (6.876+/-0.3287%) and lead (16.55+/-1.051%) treated mice to control (2.649+/-1.238%) which may be responsible for the formers' reduced functional status. The chemotactic index, a measure of chemotactic migration of the macrophages toward immune serum, was 16.43+/-1.007 in control cell and was reduced (P<0.0005) to 4.19+/-0.393 in arsenic and 2.92+/-0.649 in lead treated mice at 60 min. These altered cell functions could probably explain the intracellular survival of S. aureus but such a causal relationship awaits further detailed examination.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The absorption and excretion of fluoride and arsenic in humans.

The absorption and excretion of fluoride and arsenic were measured in a group of healthy volunteers given drinking water with naturally high concentration of fluoride (F 2.3 mg/l)(,) or high concentration of arsenic (As 0.15 mg/l), or high concentrations of both fluoride and arsenic (F 2.25 mg/l, As 0.23 mg/l and F 4.05 mg/l, As 0.58 mg/l), respectively. The results indicated that, for arsenic, the absorption rate, the proportion of urinary excretion and the biological-half-life did not show statistically significant differences between drinking water containing high arsenic alone and drinking water containing different levels of high arsenic and fluoride. Excretion and retention of arsenic were positively correlated to the total arsenic intake. Similar results were observed for fluoride. This suggests that there are different metabolic processes for arsenic and fluoride in respect to absorption and excretion; and no joint action can be attributed by these two elements.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1997

Study of arsenic mutagenesis using the plasmid shuttle vector pZ189 propagated in DNA repair proficient human cells.

Arsenic is considered a human carcinogen and although it is non-mutagenic in bacterial or human cells, arsenic interacts synergistically with genotoxic agents in the production of mutations. To gain insight into the possible mechanisms of action of arsenic in mutagenesis we studied the effects of sodium arsenite exposure on UV mutagenesis using the pZ189 shuttle vector system in DNA repair proficient GM 637 human fibroblasts. The purpose of the study was to determine whether arsenic alone induces mutations in the supF gene and whether the combination of arsenic and UV irradiation leads to a yield of mutants greater than the sum of the arsenic or UV treatments alone. Treatment of fibroblasts for 72 h with 5.0 microM of sodium arsenite alone produced significant increases in the pZ189 mutant frequency; 1 and 2.5 microM arsenite were not mutagenic. UV irradiation (320 J/m2) increased the yield of mutants 3.5-fold above the background rate. When UV-irradiated plasmid was allowed to replicate in fibroblasts treated with 1, 2.5, or 5.0 microM arsenite, the yields of mutations were significantly greater (p < 0.01) than the yield expected if the effects of each treatment were simply additive. The greatest potentiation of UV-induced mutations (4.9-fold) was observed at 1 microM arsenite, a concentration that was neither mutagenic itself nor cytotoxic. Restriction digest and DNA sequencing analyses indicated that arsenite alone produces both large-scale rearrangements, frameshifts and base substitutions. Hotspots for deletions were observed to be associated with a previously reported deletion hotspot involving 5'-CpC and runs of cytosines. Base substitutions observed involved A:T-->T:A transversions. The results indicate that arsenite alone is mutagenic in human cells using the supF reporter gene. The pZ189 shuttle vector may provide a model to study the molecular nature of co-mutagenesis of arsenic and other environmental agents. Further characterization of arsenic's effects on DNA repair and mutational spectra may be useful in the development of molecular markers in studies of arsenic carcinogenesis in human populations.

Arsenic↗
PubMed2001

Arsenic contamination of groundwater and drinking water in Vietnam: a human health threat.

This is the first publication on arsenic contamination of the Red River alluvial tract in the city of Hanoi and in the surrounding rural districts. Due to naturally occurring organic matter in the sediments, the groundwaters are anoxic and rich in iron. With an average arsenic concentration of 159 micrograms/L, the contamination levels varied from 1 to 3050 micrograms/L in rural groundwater samples from private small-scale tubewells. In a highly affected rural area, the groundwater used directly as drinking water had an average concentration of 430 micrograms/L. Analysis of raw groundwater pumped from the lower aquifer for the Hanoi water supply yielded arsenic levels of 240-320 micrograms/L in three of eight treatment plants and 37-82 micrograms/L in another five plants. Aeration and sand filtration that are applied in the treatment plants for iron removal lowered the arsenic concentrations to levels of 25-91 micrograms/L, but 50% remained above the Vietnamese Standard of 50 micrograms/L. Extracts of sediment samples from five bore cores showed a correlation of arsenic and iron contents (r2 = 0.700, n = 64). The arsenic in the sediments may be associated with iron oxyhydroxides and released to the groundwater by reductive dissolution of iron. Oxidation of sulfide phases could also release arsenic to the groundwater, but sulfur concentrations in sediments were below 1 mg/g. The high arsenic concentrations found in the tubewells (48% above 50 micrograms/L and 20% above 150 micrograms/L) indicate that several million people consuming untreated groundwater might be at a considerable risk of chronic arsenic poisoning.

Arsenic↗
PubMed2002

Natural organic matter affects arsenic speciation and sorption onto hematite.

Arsenic mobility in natural environments is controlled primarily by sorption onto metal oxide surfaces, and the extent of this sorption may be influenced strongly by the presence of other dissolved substances that interact with surfaces or with arsenic itself. Natural organic matter (NOM), a prevalent constituent of natural waters, is highly reactive toward both metals and surfaces and is thus a clear candidate to influence arsenic mobility. The objectives of this study were therefore to reveal the influences of diverse NOM samples on the sorption of arsenic onto hematite, a model metal oxide, as well as to reveal influences of arsenic on the sorption of NOM, using conditions and concentrations relevant to natural freshwater environments. Of the six NOM samples tested, four formed aqueous complexes with arsenate and arsenite. The extent of complexation varied with the NOM origin and, in particular, increased with the cationic metal (primarily Fe) content of the NOM sample. In addition, every NOM sample showed active redox behavior toward arsenic species, indicating that NOM may greatly influence redox as well as complexation speciation of arsenic in freshwater environments. When NOM and As were incubated together with hematite, NOM dramatically delayed the attainment of sorption equilibrium and diminished the extent of sorption of both arsenate and arsenite. Consistent with this result, when NOM and As were introduced sequentially, all NOM samples displaced sorbed arsenate and arsenite from hematite surfaces, and arsenic species similarly displaced sorbed NOM from hematite in significant quantities. Competition between NOM and As for sorption thus appears to be a potentially important process in natural waters, suggesting that NOM may play a greater role in arsenic mobility than previously recognized. In addition, in all sorption experiments, arsenite was consistently desorbed or prevented from sorbing to a greater extent than arsenate, indicating that interactions with NOM may also partially explain the generally greater mobility of arsenite in natural environments.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2002

Anthropogenic sources of arsenic and copper to sediments in a suburban lake, Northern Virginia.

Mass balances of total arsenic and copper for a suburban lake in densely populated northern Virginia were calculated using date collected during 1998. Mass-balance terms were precipitation; stream inflow, including road runoff; stream outflow; and contributions from leaching of pressure-treated lumber. More mass of arsenic and copper was input to the lake than was output the 1998 lake-retention rates were 70% for arsenic and 20% for copper. The arsenic mass balance compared well with a calculated annual mass accumulation in the top 1 cm of the lake sediments; however, the calculated contribution of copper to the lake was insufficient to account for the amount of copper in this zone. Leaching experiments were conducted on lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to quantify approximate amounts of arsenic and copper contributed by this source. Sources to lake sediments included leaching of CCA-treated lumber (arsenic, 50%; copper, 4%), streamwater (arsenic, 50%; copper, 90%), and atmospheric deposition (arsenic, 1%; copper, 3%). Results of this study suggest that CCA-treated lumber and road runoff could be significant nonpoint sources of arsenic and copper, respectively, in suburban catchments.

Arsenates↗
PubMed2003

Arsenic in groundwater in eastern New England: occurrence, controls, and human health implications.

In eastern New England, high concentrations (greater than 10 microg/L) of arsenic occur in groundwater. Privately supplied drinking water from bedrock aquifers often has arsenic concentrations at levels of concern to human health, whereas drinking water from unconsolidated aquifers is least affected by arsenic contamination. Water from wells in metasedimentary bedrock units, primarily in Maine and New Hampshire, has the highest arsenic concentrations-nearly 30% of wells in these aquifers produce water with arsenic concentrations greater than 10 microg/L. Arsenic was also found at concentrations of 3-40 mg/kg in whole rock samples in these formations, suggesting a possible geologic source. Arsenic is most common in groundwater with high pH. High pH is related to groundwater age and possibly the presence of calcite in bedrock. Ion exchange in areas formerly inundated by seawater also may increase pH. Wells sampled twice during periods of 1-10 months have similar arsenic concentrations (slope = 0.89; r-squared = 0.97). On the basis of water-use information for the aquifers studied, about 103,000 people with private wells could have water supplies with arsenic at levels of concern (greater than 10 microg/L) for human health.

Arsenic↗
PubMed2003

Environmental fate of roxarsone in poultry litter. Part II. Mobility of arsenic in soils amended with poultry litter.

Poultry litter often contains arsenic as a result of organo-arsenical feed additives. When the poultry litter is applied to agricultural fields, the arsenic is released to the environment and may result in increased arsenic in surface and groundwater and increased uptake by plants. The release of arsenic from poultry litter, litter-amended soils, and soils without litter amendment was examined by extraction with water and strong acids (HCI and HNO3). The extracts were analyzed for As, C, P, Cu, Zn, and Fe. Copper, zinc, and iron are also poultry feed additives. Soils with a known history of litter application and controlled application rate of arsenic-containing poultry litter were obtained from the University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station. Soils from fields with long-term application of poultry litter were obtained from a tilled field on the Delmarva Peninsula (MD) and an untilled Oklahoma pasture. Samples from an adjacent forest or nearby pasture that had no history of litter application were used as controls. Depth profiles were sampled for the Oklahoma pasture soils. Analysis of the poultry litter showed that 75% of the arsenic was readily soluble in water. Extraction of soils shows that weakly bound arsenic mobilized by water correlates positively with C, P, Cu, and Zn in amended fields and appears to come primarily from the litter. Strongly bound arsenic correlates positively with Fe in amended fields and suggests sorption or coprecipitation of As and Fe in the soil column.

Absorption↗