skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Concentrations and chemical species of arsenic in human urine and hair

Journal Article · · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01697507· OSTI ID:6808437
 [1]
  1. St. Marianna Univ. School of Medicine, Kawasaki (Japan)

Because marine products are rich in arsenic, the concentration of arsenic in the human urine varies greatly with the state of ingestion of marine products. It has been revealed that inorganic arsenic is methylated in the human body to form MAA (methylarsonic acid) and DMAA (dimethylarsinic acid). It appears therefore that the arsenic present in the human urine is a mixture of the arsenic originating from marine products and the arsenic metabolized in vivo. Recent studies have shown that inorganic arsenic and methylarsenic compounds are quite different in toxicity and effect on the living body due to their difference in chemical species. Finding the chemical species of arsenic in the urine and hair of normal subjects will therefore provide valuable basal data for the biological monitoring of arsenic exposure and for toxicological studies of arsenic.

OSTI ID:
6808437
Journal Information:
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA), Vol. 40:5; ISSN 0007-4861
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English