Carcinogenicity arsenic

EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1997a. Report on the Expert Panel on Arsenic Carcinogenicity Review and Workshop. Prepared by the Eastern Research Group, Inc., Lexington, Mass., for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington, D.C. 

It has been difficult to demonstrate arsenic carcinogenicity in animal experiments. Oral and dermal administrations of arsenic trioxides and pentoxides have not resulted in carcinogenic outcomes in animal studies. Likewise, animal studies on organic arsenic compounds have been negative. Inorganic arsenic compounds induce deletion mutations and some chromosomal abnormalities, but no point mutations. 

Huff J, Chen P, Nyska A. Is the human carcinogen arsenic carcinogenic to animals Toxicol Sci 2000 55 17-23. 

It cannot be ruled out that susceptibility to arsenic carcinogenicity might differ between Andean populations and Taiwanese people according to observed differences in the methylation of arsenic. Some studies have reported that Andean populations do not develop skin cancer after long exposure to As (see Gebel 2000). 

Contaminated soil is a particular concern with respect to exposure of children to hazardous substances. The most common such contaminant is lead, especially in areas around lead smelters. Soil contaminants from hazardous waste sources also include arsenic, carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene, and PCBs. ... 

Toxicity. Antimony has been found not to be a carcinogen or to present any undue risk to the environment (9). However, because antimony compounds also contain minor amounts of arsenic which is a poison and a carcinogen, warning labels are placed on all packages of antimony trioxide. 

Carcinogens Cancer-producing agents Skin Respiratory Bladder/urinary tract Liver Nasal Bone marrow Coal tar pitch dust crude anthracene dust mineral oil mist arsenic. Asbestos polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons nickel ore arsenic bis-(chloromethyl) ether mustard gas. p-naphthylamine benzidine 4-am i nodi pheny lam ine. Vinyl chloride monomer. Mustard gas nickel ore. Benzene. 

Carcinogenic hazard of wood dusts. Carcinogenicity of crystalline silica Inorganic arsenic compounds... 

Many very hazardous solvents, such as benzene and carbon tetrachloride, were widely used until the 1970s. The situation was very similar for the use of pesticides. Among the toxic pesticides that were still in wide use 20 years ago were chlorophenols, DDT, lindane, and arsenic salts, all of which are classified as human carcinogens as well as being acutely toxic. Fortunately, use of these kinds of very toxic chemicals is now limited in the industrialized world. However, because the number of chemicals used in various industries continues to increase, the risks of long-term health hazards due to long-term exposure to low concentrations of chemicals continues to be a problem in the workplace. 

Arsenic is a known human carcinogen, found in drinking water in many parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the upper limit for arsenic in drinking water at ten parts per billion (10 ppb). The legal limit in the United States, set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 50 ppb. 

Other factors associated with the risk of NMSC include exposure to ionizing radiation and arsenic, which is connected with BCC. Chemical carcinogens that give rise to NMSC include industrial hydrocarbons that are found in coal tars, soot, asphalt, paraffin waxes, and tobacco.21 Exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV-6, -11, -16, and -18) has been linked to SCC.31 Lastly, a personal history of previous melanoma is a risk factor for developing another primary melanoma. 

The information available regarding the association of occupational exposure to lead with increased cancer risk is generally limited in its usefulness because the actual compound(s) of lead, the route(s) of exposure, and level(s) of lead to which the workers were exposed were often not reported. Furthermore, potential for exposure to other chemicals including arsenic, cadmium, and antimony occurred, particularly in lead smelters, and smoking was a possible confounder (Cooper 1976 IARC 1987). These studies, therefore, are not sufficient to determine the carcinogenicity of lead in humans, and the following discussion is restricted to the most comprehensive of these studies. 

Cancer. The information available on the carcinogenicity of lead in occupationally exposed humans is limited in its usefulness because the lead compound(s), the route(s) of exposure, and the levels of exposure were not always reported. Furthermore, concurrent exposure to other chemical (including arsenic, particularly in lead smelters) and confounding variables, such as smoking, were often not evaluated. Therefore, the data currently available do not support an assessment of the potential carcinogenic risk of lead in humans. 

According to EPA (IRIS 1999), the available human epidemiological studies lack quantitative exposure data for lead and for possible confounding exposures (e.g., arsenic, smoking). Cancer excesses in the lung and stomach of lead-exposed workers that are reported are relatively small, dose-response relationships are not demonstrated neither is there consistency in the site of cancers reported. EPA (IRIS 1999) concluded that the human data are inadequate to refute or demonstrate the potential carcinogenicity of lead exposure. 

Drinking water and various submixtures National Institute of of the full seven-chemical mixture as a Environmental Health promoter in the carcinogenic process Sciences (arsenic, benzene, chloroform, chromium, lead, trichloroethylene, and phenol) (rats)... 

The evaluation of risk has underlined the possible adverse effects both on human health after the exposure to drinking water contaminated by landfill leachate and on small rodents and aquatic species at the hypothesized condition for humans, the estimated toxic effects of the raw leachate are mainly due to the levels of ammonia and cadmium and carcinogenic effects are induced by arsenic first and then by PCBs and PCDD/Fs while ecological potential risk is mainly attributable to the concentration of inorganic compounds, in particular ammonia for small rodents, cadmium, ammonia, and heavy metals for fishes. 

Exposure to arsenic has been associated with different types of human cancers such as respiratory cancers and epidermoid carcinomas of the skin, as well as precancerous dermal keratosis. The epidemiological evidence of human carcinogenicity is supported by carcinogenesis in experimental animals (Deknudt et al. 1986). 

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