Although inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a well-known human carcinogen recognized by the World Health Organization (2001) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (1987), the mechanism of carcinogenicity are not clear. Because of significant differences in arsenic (As) metabolism between experimental animals and humans, the use of animal models to evaluate the carcinogenic effects iAs has not been established successfully (Goering et al. 1999). For decades, As has been considered a nongenotoxic carcinogen because it is only weakly active or, more often, completely inactive in bacterial and mammalian cell mutation assays (Hei and Filipic 2004). Recently, increasing evidence has shown that As is a strong, dose-dependent gene and chromosomal mutagen that is capable of inducing mostly multilocus deletions (Hei et al. 1998). Experiments in mammalian cells have also shown that this induction was significantly reduced in the presence of antioxidant enzymes (Liu et al. 2002).

As early as 1976, villagers from Guizhou province in southwestern China were reported to be suffering severe symptoms of arsenicosis (Zhou et al. 1993), which was attributed to exposure to high levels of As in food, especially in corn and chili peppers, and to a lesser extent by breathing As-laden air (Finkelman et al. 2003). Villagers mined local low-grade As-containing coal from abundant, small local coal pits, with As-coal concentrations mostly in the range of hundreds of milligrams per kilogram (Finkelman et al. 1999; Zheng et al. 1999). Corn and chili peppers were dried over unventilated indoor stoves used for every day cooking and for heating during the winter months. Repeated surveys of As-coal and medical examinations have identified nine towns in four counties in southwest Guizhou province as having high levels of As in food and air (Zhang et al. 2000a). Approximately 200,000 people within the four counties were at risk of exposure to high levels of As; 3,000 cases of arsenicosis were diagnosed in the late 1990s, with approximately 2,000 of these cases in Xinren county alone (Liu et al. 2002). Over the years, various measures adopted by local governments, such as shutting down the coal pits containing high levels of As and installation of ventilated stoves, have been only minimally effective until a health education campaign was implemented in 2005 (An et al. 2005).

New cases of arsenicosis have been identified each year since 1990, although there was evidence of reduction in exposure as early as 1998. Between 1998 and 2004, collected coal samples had As concentrations of 92–816 mg/kg (Huang et al. 2002). The average concentration in indoor air during that time was 0.087 ± 0.045 mg/m3 (n = 22), which is lower than that in indoor air in 1991 [0.46 ± 0.30 mg/m3 (n = 18); Zhang et al. 2000a; Zhou et al.1993]. Urinary As concentrations declined from 130.6 ± 121.2 μg/L (n = 167) in 1998 to 97.0 ± 76.1 μg/L (n = 43) in 2004. This finding coincided with the decrease of As concentrations in indoor air. In the exposed population, skin lesions were common. Other damage included lung dysfunction, neuropathy, and nephrotoxicity. The prevalence of hepatomegaly was 20%. Approximately 200 people have died from the effects of the most severe As poisoning, which included liver cirrhosis, ascites, and liver and skin cancers. Treatment of individuals who have arsenicosis was difficult because of a long exposure time of more than 30 years (Zhou et al.1993) and the high level of As exposure in the population.

In this article, we report the results of a series of investigations between 1998 and 2004, which included a large number of individuals with arsenicosis. To look for cellular and molecular biomarkers of exposure, we collected blood and skin samples from villagers who had been exposed to As. We analyzed the effects of As exposure on chromosome and DNA damage, DNA synthesis and repair, and tumor suppressor gene mutations. One of our goals was to identify molecular biomarkers for early diagnosis that may be applicable to populations exposed to much lower levels of As, usually found in drinking water.

Unventilated indoor coal-fired stoves in Guizhou province, China: cellular and genetic damage in villagers exposed to arsenic in food and air

Arsenic exposure from burning coal with high arsenic contents occurs in southwest Guizhou, China. Coal in this region contains extremely high concentrations of inorganic arsenic. Arsenic exposure from coal-burning is much higher than exposure from arsenic-contaminated water in other areas of China. The current status and prevention strategies for arsenic poisoning from burning high-arsenic coal in southwest Guizhou, China, is reported here. Over 3,000 arsenic-intoxicated patients were diagnosed based on skin lesions and urinary arsenic excretion. Non-cancerous toxicities and malignancies were much more common and severe in these patients than in other arsenic-affected populations around the world. The high incidence of cancer and arsenic-related mortality in this cohort is alarming. Chelation therapy was performed but the long-term therapeutic effects are not satisfactory. The best prevention strategy is to eliminate arsenic exposure. Funds from the Chinese Government are currently available to solve this arsenic exposure problem. Strategies include the installation of vented stoves, the use of marsh gas to replace coal, health education, the improvement of nutritional status, and the use of various therapies to treat arsenic-induced skin and liver diseases.

/pdf/current-status-and-prevention-strategy-for-coal-arsenic-1mz6xq97p5.pdf

Current Status and Prevention Strategy for Coal-arsenic Poisoning in Guizhou, China

We the report results of a coordinated mitigation effort aimed at reducing arsenic (As) exposure in three counties of Guizhou province, China. Mitigation occurred in 2005 and encompassed 21 villages with 47,000 inhabitants, who were exposed to high levels of As in their diet through consumption of As-contaminated chili peppers and corn dried over unventilated stoves that burned coal containing high levels of As. The coal was mined by villagers from local pits. Inhalation of air that contained high levels of As contributed to approximately 25% of the daily As intake of 6–9 mg. Before mitigation, a baseline survey of 45,364 residents in 2004 identified more than 2,800 individuals with arsenicosis. The survey also found that many residents were aware of the health effects of As in general but lacked in-depth understanding of the link between coal use and arsenicosis. Consequently, an overwhelming majority (> 95%) continued to use high-As coal. This survey provided the basis for a health education campaign that promoted lifestyle changes coupled with the shutting down of local coal pits and the installation of 10,000 new stoves with chimneys for ventilation. The cost of the mitigation was about 4 million Yuan RMB (US$500,000) and was financed mostly by the government. A postmitigation response survey in 2005 found that > 85% of the residents now associate the use of coal with arsenicosis; > 90% correctly learned to operate the new ventilated stoves; and > 90% dry corn and chili peppers outdoors in the sun. Urinary As concentrations in the region decreased from 0.198 ± 0.300 mg/L (n = 144) in 2004 to 0.049 ± 0.009 mg/L (n = 50) in 2005 in individuals with arsenicosis (p < 0.01), which is consistent with the behavior changes.

Unventilated indoor coal-fired stoves in Guizhou province, China: reduction of arsenic exposure through behavior changes resulting from mitigation and health education in populations with arsenicosis.

Epikarst water, which is one of the most important water resources in karst mountain areas, is extremely sensitive to mining activities. Acid mine drainage (AMD) with high levels of heavy metals can degrade the water quality. A typical coalfield basin was chosen to research the migration process of heavy metals. It was found that the chemical compositions of the stream water in the research field were controlled by the dissolution of carbonate rocks or/and the weathering and oxidation of pyrite in the mining area. Excluding a few sites in the mining area, As(V) was dominant species of arsenic in the form of H2AsO4
 − or HAsO4
 2− in the research field. Based on the mass balance concept, it was found that fluxes of As, Zn, Cu and Cd in water from the mining area (site 17) affected by AMD were 18, 871, 281 and 12 kg year−1, respectively. Also, concentrations of Cd, Zn, As and Cu in the stream water decreased along the flow, because these ions deposited from the water to the stream bed as the redistribution processes in environment.

Migration of Cu, Zn, Cd and As in epikarst water affected by acid mine drainage at a coalfield basin, Xingren, Southwest China

Characterisation of airborne particles collected proximal to lignite mines and power plants of Ptolemais-Kozani area, northern Greece

Endemic regions of Guizhou Province with arseniasis caused by domestic coal burning are distributed in Xingren, Anlong, Xingyi and Zhijin Counties. 9 Towns and 32 Villages are implicated, and the population of direct exposure is about 40 thousand. There are 8 786 households and 2 848 cases with arseniasis. The epidemiology is characterized by that the endemic is influenced by many factors, such as indoor exposure levels to arsenic, concentrations of arsenic in the coal, quantity and time of coal usage, ventilation of the room, the ways of dehydration and storage of the foodstuff. Arsenic is ingested through alimentary and respiratory tract as well as the skin. It occurs mainly in winter with sub-acute symptoms. Cirrhosis of liver and ascites are the two main causes of death. Multiple pollution by chemicals such as arsenic, fluoride and sulfur dioxide exists due to coal burning. Countermeasures have been done since then, but the endemic has not been effectively controlled. It is suggested that, in order to entirely control the endemic as soon as possible, the local government should take integrated controlling actions such as closing down the coal pits of high amount of arsenic with established time limit based on health education and promotion, encouraging the residents to stop mining the high arsenic coal and using the improved stoves.

Epidemiological status and countermeasures of endemic arseniasis of Guizhou Province

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

An Dong

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Epidemiological status and countermeasures of endemic arseniasis of Guizhou Province