Arsenic: The Silent Killer
Abstract
Andrea Foster uses x-rays to determine the forms of potentially toxic elements in environmentally-important matrices such as water, sediments, plants, and microorganisms. In this free public lecture, Foster will discuss her research on arsenic, which is called the silent killer because dissolved in water, it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, yet consumption of relatively small doses of this element in its most toxic forms can cause rapid and violent death. Arsenic is a well-known poison, and has been used as such since ancient times. Less well known is the fact that much lower doses of the element, consumed over years, can lead to a variety of skin and internal cancers that can also be fatal. Currently, what has been called the largest mass poisoning in history is occurring in Bangladesh, where most people are by necessity drinking ground water that is contaminated with arsenic far in excess of the maximum amounts determined to be safe by the World Health Organization. This presentation will review the long and complicated history with arsenic, describe how x-rays have helped explain the high yet spatially variable arsenic concentrations in Bangladesh, discuss the ways in which land use in Bangladesh may be exacerbating the problem,more »
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States))
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1014036
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- Resource Type:
- Multimedia
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: SLAC Public Lecture Series, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, presented on February 28, 2006
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS; ARSENIC; BANGLADESH; DEATH; DRINKING WATER; FERMILAB ACCELERATOR; GROUND WATER; LAND USE; MATRICES; MICROORGANISMS; POISONING; SEDIMENTS; STANFORD LINEAR ACCELERATOR CENTER; WATER; WHO; ORPIMENT; ARSENOPYRITE
Citation Formats
Foster, Andrea. Arsenic: The Silent Killer. United States: N. p., 2006.
Web.
Foster, Andrea. Arsenic: The Silent Killer. United States.
Foster, Andrea. Tue .
"Arsenic: The Silent Killer". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1014036.
@article{osti_1014036,
title = {Arsenic: The Silent Killer},
author = {Foster, Andrea},
abstractNote = {Andrea Foster uses x-rays to determine the forms of potentially toxic elements in environmentally-important matrices such as water, sediments, plants, and microorganisms. In this free public lecture, Foster will discuss her research on arsenic, which is called the silent killer because dissolved in water, it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, yet consumption of relatively small doses of this element in its most toxic forms can cause rapid and violent death. Arsenic is a well-known poison, and has been used as such since ancient times. Less well known is the fact that much lower doses of the element, consumed over years, can lead to a variety of skin and internal cancers that can also be fatal. Currently, what has been called the largest mass poisoning in history is occurring in Bangladesh, where most people are by necessity drinking ground water that is contaminated with arsenic far in excess of the maximum amounts determined to be safe by the World Health Organization. This presentation will review the long and complicated history with arsenic, describe how x-rays have helped explain the high yet spatially variable arsenic concentrations in Bangladesh, discuss the ways in which land use in Bangladesh may be exacerbating the problem, and summarize the impact of this silent killer on drinking water systems worldwide.},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 28 00:00:00 EST 2006},
month = {Tue Feb 28 00:00:00 EST 2006}
}