Arsenic Cation (3+)

Acute Oral: 0.005 mg/kg/day (L134) Chronic Oral: 0.0003 mg/kg/day (L134) Chronic Inhalation: 0.01 mg/m3 (L134) The World Health Organization asserts that a level of 0.01 mg/L in drinking water poses a risk of 1/1600 chance of lifetime skin cancer risk.

Arsenic poisoning can be treated by chelation therapy, using chelating agents such as dimercaprol, EDTA or DMSA. Charcoal tablets may also be used for less severe cases. In addition, maintaining a diet high in sulfur helps eliminate arsenic from the body. (L20)

Arsenic poisoning can lead to death from multi-system organ failure, probably from necrotic cell death, not apoptosis. Arsenic is also a known carcinogen, especially in skin, liver, bladder and lung cancers. (T1, L20) Arsenic poisoning is has also been associated with heart disease, (hypertension related cardiovascular), stroke (cerebrovascular diseases), chronic lower respiratory diseases and diabetes. Chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to a vitamin A deficiency which is related to heart disease and night blindness.

Arsenic and its metabolites disrupt ATP production through several mechanisms. At the level of the citric acid cycle, arsenic inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase and by competing with phosphate it uncouples oxidative phosphorylation, thus inhibiting energy-linked reduction of NAD+, mitochondrial respiration, and ATP synthesis. Hydrogen peroxide production is also increased, which might form reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. Arsenic's carcinogenicity is influenced by the arsenical binding of tubulin, which results in aneuploidy, polyploidy and mitotic arrests. The binding of other arsenic protein targets may also cause altered DNA repair enzyme activity, altered DNA methylation patterns and cell proliferation. (T1, A17)

Arsenic is absorbed mainly by inhalation or ingestion, as to a lesser extent, dermal exposure. It is then distributed throughout the body, where it is reduced into arsenite if necessary, then methylated into monomethylarsenic (MMA) and dimethylarsenic acid (DMA) by arsenite methyltransferase. Arsenic and its metabolites are primarily excreted in the urine. Arsenic is known to induce the metal-binding protein metallothionein, which decreases the toxic effects of arsenic and other metals by binding them and making them biologically inactive, as well as acting as an antioxidant. (L20)