Seven potential sources of arsenic pollution in Latin America and their environmental and health impacts
| Autor: | Dinesh Mohan, Paulo Roberto Martins Baisch, Dina L. López, Abhijit Mukherjee, Jochen Bundschuh, Luiz Roberto Guimarães Guilherme, Indika Herath, Mohammad Ayaz Alam, Jyoti Prakash Maity, Barbara Tomaszewska, Jerusa Schneider, Alicia Fernández Cirelli, Nabeel Khan Niazi, Alejo Pérez-Carrera, Nury Morales-Simfors, María Teresa Alarcón-Herrera, Faruque Parvez |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Arsenic pollution
Pollution Environmental Engineering Latin Americans 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences media_common.quotation_subject Population 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Mining Arsenic Environmental health Humans Environmental Chemistry Carcinogenic chemicals education Waste Management and Disposal Organ system 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common education.field_of_study Coal Latin America Geothermal fluid Environmental science Cancer development Environmental Pollution Environmental Monitoring |
| Zdroj: | Science of The Total Environment. 780:146274 |
| ISSN: | 0048-9697 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146274 |
| Popis: | This review presents a holistic overview of the occurrence, mobilization, and pathways of arsenic (As) from predominantly geogenic sources into different near-surface environmental compartments, together with the respective reported or potential impacts on human health in Latin America. The main sources and pathways of As pollution in this region include: (i) volcanism and geothermalism: (a) volcanic rocks, fluids (e.g., gases) and ash, including large-scale transport of the latter through different mechanisms, (b) geothermal fluids and their exploitation; (ii) natural lixiviation and accelerated mobilization from (mostly sulfidic) metal ore deposits by mining and related activities; (iii) coal deposits and their exploitation; (iv) hydrocarbon reservoirs and co-produced water during exploitation; (v) solute and sediment transport through rivers to the sea; (vi) atmospheric As (dust and aerosol); and (vii) As exposure through geophagy and involuntary ingestion. The two most important and well-recognized sources and mechanisms for As release into the Latin American population's environments are: (i) volcanism and geothermalism, and (ii) strongly accelerated As release from geogenic sources by mining and related activities. Several new analyses from As-endemic areas of Latin America emphasize that As-related mortality and morbidity continue to rise even after decadal efforts towards lowering As exposure. Several public health regulatory institutions have classified As and its compounds as carcinogenic chemicals, as As uptake can affect several organ systems, viz. dermal, gastrointestinal, peptic, neurological, respiratory, reproductive, following exposure. Accordingly, ingesting large amounts of As can damage the stomach, kidneys, liver, heart, and nervous system; and, in severe cases, may cause death. Moreover, breathing air with high As levels can cause lung damage, shortness of breath, chest pain, and cough. Further, As compounds, being corrosive, can also cause skin lesions or damage eyes, and long-term exposure to As can lead to cancer development in several organs. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full Text from ScienceDirect