|
INTRODUCTION : Arsenic is a ubiquitous element present in various compounds throughout the earth’s crust. The use of arsenic compounds increased greatly during the 18th and 19th centuries, including its use in pigments and dyes, as a preservative of animal hides, in glass manufacture, agricultural pesticides, and various pharmaceutical substances. The causal association between human arsenic exposure, usually in the form of inorganic compounds containing trivalent arsenite (As$^{III}$) or pentavalent arsenate (As$^V$), and various forms of human cancer has been known for many years.
|