Arsenic

Arsenic is a chemical element on the periodic table. It is has an atomic number 33 and has the symbol As. Arsenic is a poisonous element and it is a metalloid. Arsenic is used in pesticides, because its very harmful to humans it is diluted and made to a less toxic state. Also, a lot of wood is treated with a form of arsenic to keep it from rotting and being infested with insects. Arsenic is a very harmful and deadly element.

Arsenic is used in lead hydrogen arsenate and is used in insecticides for fruit and other kinds of trees and plants. Farmers used this for a long time during the 20th century. It was a good way to kill harmful insects but it was also killing them. The arsenic was giving the farmers major brain damage and even death. The arsenic was very dangerous to use. The insecticides with the arsenic in them also cause problems in the soil. When the insecticide would get into the soil it would get into the ground water and contaminate the water. This problem had many occurrences in the world.

A large and ongoing contamination of ground water from arsenic is a problem in Bangladesh. It is a huge epidemic in the Bangladesh region, over 57 million people are drinking water with arsenic in it. The arsenic in the ground water is not because of agriculture but it is from the environment. The environment has arsenic in the land but the machines Bangladesh has does not filter out arsenic. Bangladesh is not a very wealthy country so has a problem buying a ground water filter that filters out the high levels of arsenic in the water. High levels of arsenic are also in other countries such as Vietnam, Tibet, Cambodia, and even the U.S.A.. In parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North and South Dakota, arsenic has a significant level in the ground water.

Arsenic is also used in wood. A certain wood is treated with arsenic called chromated copper arsenate. The arsenic protects the wood from rotting and from insects. The wood is mostly used on outdoor structures where rotting and insect infection is more common. The wood is banned though for some structures. It is illegal to use the wood on some thing such as a child playground. The arsenic in the wood could harm the children who play on the playground. Also, when the wood is burnt it is extremely harmful. If the wood catches on fire, the fumes from the arsenic burning are very harmful if inhaled.

For hundreds of years, arsenic was used