Arsenic-containing herbicides

In all wine-producing countries that are members of the Office Internationale du Vin (OIV), the use of arsenic-containing pesticides in wine cultivation is strictly forbidden (Eschnauer 2003). The use of arsenic-containing herbicides has, meanwhile, also been forbidden in many other countries (see Section 6.4.3.2). Spanish legislation has set a maximum level for total As in confectionery products at 0.1 mgkg (BOE 1991). 

Arsine is a colorless gas used in the semiconductor industry. Arsine also is used in mining and manufacturing processes involving arsenicals and paints and herbicides containing arsenicals. 

Arsine is an extremely toxic, colorless gas used extensively in the semiconductor industry. Arsine also is used in mining and manufacturing processes involving arsenicals and in paints and herbicides containing arsenicals (Risk and Fuortes 1991). Annual production has been estimated at over 10,000 pounds and is likely increasing with greater use in the semiconductor industry (U.S. EPA 1980). The physical and chemical data for arsine are shown in Table 2-2. 

Coastal estuary wetlands are susceptible to arsenic contamination because of hurricanes or other storms. Sediments deposited in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, were often contaminated with arsenic that exceeded human health standards (Cobb et al., 2006). The arsenic may have originated from runoff containing lawn herbicide residues and the leachates of wood treated with CCA preservatives (Cobb et al, 2006), 4576. 

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