Arsenic itself is not toxic and widely exists in nature, but its compound arsenic trioxide (commonly known as arsenic) is very toxic. The toxicity of arsenic was discovered more than two thousand years ago. At the beginning of the 20th century, people began to devote themselves to the research of arsenic compounds, and thus invented a variety of arsenic preparations, mainly used as preservatives, pesticides and so on. It is also widely used in tuberculosis and rheumatism. Current studies have found that trivalent arsenic compounds can cause skin cancer, bladder cancer and lung cancer. In some parts of the world, diseases caused by arsenic, including cancer, are the main problems affecting public health.
Toxicity of arsenic
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has confirmed that long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic compounds can lead to skin cancer and lung cancer. Drinking high arsenic water for a long time can cause melanosis of skin and canceration of skin diversity. A study conducted by Oklahoma Health Science University in August 2005 showed that 0.04 mg/L arsenic in water can promote vascular proliferation. 0.0 1mg/L can stimulate the rapid growth of tumor.