Arsenic in the hair

Abstract

The toxicity of arsenic (As) and its effects on living organisms have been known since antiquity. Arsenic accumulates in hair which can therefore be used as a biological indicator of exposure to this toxic element. Several techniques have been used to study the amount of arsenic in hair, which in adult humans is normally less than 1 mg/kg. The most widely used technique for the analysis of As in hair is hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS). Human hair has been analysed to detect As contamination in several countries worldwide. Over a hundred million people alive today, worldwide, are slowly being poisoned by As. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, for example, are contaminated with As. High concentrations of As in the ecosystems seriously affect the environment and the health of the local people, especially if some of these pollutants are leached from the surface and reach groundwater aquifers. Of the various routes of exposure to As, potable water poses the greatest risk to human health. After absorption, toxic compounds enter the circulating blood. Arsenic is then rapidly distributed throughout the body before eventually being excreted.