Arsenic global atmosphere, emissions

Fig. 4 Global metal emissions to the atmosphere by region (tonnes/year) for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and molybdenum (Mo) (a) chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and manganese Mn (b) nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) (c) and antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), tin (Sn) and thallium (Tl) (d) (data from Pacyna and Pacyna 2001)...

Globally, volcanoes release about 17 150 metric tons (t) of arsenic per year into the atmosphere (It equals 1000 kg (Matschullat, 2000), 300). Other significant natural sources of gaseous arsenic emissions include geothermal vents, wind erosion of soils and sediments, forest and coal seam fires, and sea spray ((Cullen and Reimer, 1989), 740 (Nriagu, 1989) Chapter 3). Under reducing conditions in soils, fungi and... 

TABLE 5. Global emissions (kty" ) of antimony and arsenic to the atmosphere ... 

Global man-made releases or arsenic into the atmosphere have been estimated by several authors in the past and also more recently. These data were - and still are -divergent as they suffer from large uncertainties due to limited information available. In the first edition of this book, the total anthropogenic As emission per annum was estimated at around 124000 tons, of which about 50000 tons was due to combustion of fossil fuels, mainly from data reported in the late 1970s (Leonard 1991). 

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