Arsenic
Formula: As; CAS Registry Number: 7440-38-2
Ubiquitous toxic metalloid
Arsenic compounds were used as pesticides in agriculture and forestry until the 1980s and 2004, respectively. Moreover, several drugs are based on arsenic and it is used e.g. in electronic industry, metal alloys, and in the process of glass production.
Weathering, volcanic activities, and solution in waters, biological processes and anthropogenic activities may lead to emissions of arsenic. It is mobile in all environmental compartments and may circulate for a long time before settling in sediments.
Several arsenic compounds are highly toxic to humans and classified as carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic.
Toxicity has also been demonstrated for birds, aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Arsenic is accumulated by aquatic organisms (bioaccumulation). Biomagnification in the food web can not be ruled out.
Search data
Specimen
| Common spruce | A major primary producer in semi-natural and anthropogenic affected ecosystems. |
|---|---|
| Pine | A major primary producer in semi-natural and anthropogenic affected ecosystems. |
| Lombardy poplar | A deciduous tree typical of ecosystems close to dense conurbations and an indicator for the characterisation of the immission situation during the vegetation period. |
| Beech | As the most dominant deciduous tree species in Central Europe, it plays a significant role in most nearly natural and also anthropogenically influenced forest ecosystems up to an altitude of 1100 m. |
| Zebra mussel | Common mussel species as invasive animal in rivers and lakes with high information level for water pollution |
| Bream | Bioindicator in rivers and lakes |
| Common bladder wrack | Common brown alga of the coastal areas of the North and Baltic Sea |
| Blue mussel | One of the most important edible mussel species common in the North and Baltic Sea |
| Eelpout | As the only viviparous fish in German nearshore waters, it is a bioindicator in nearshore coastal marine ecosystems. |
| Herring gull | Inshore, the herring gull mainly feeds from the sea: upon fish, mussels, and crabs. |
| Suspended particulate matter | Fine insoluble mineral or organic particles in the water phase |
Sampling area
| BR/NP Berchtesgaden | The only high mountains national park in Germany and an area of the Limestone Alps with international relevance. |
|---|---|
| Saarländischer Verdichtungsraum | Important, old-industrialised conurbation in Germany. |
| Bornhöveder Seengebiet | Main watershed between the North- and Baltic Sea. |
| Rhein | Longest river in Germany. |
| NP Bayerischer Wald | The Bavarian Forest National Park is Germany's first national park. |
| NP Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft | National Park in the largest brackish water (Bodden) habitat of the world. |
| BR/NP Wattenmeere | National park in the world largest connected sand and mud flats. |
| Elbe | Fourth largest river area in Central Europe. |
| Dübener Heide | Region in the chemical triangle of Central Germany. |
| NP Harz | The Harz National Park is Germany's largest forest national park. |
| Solling | Second highest and largest low mountain range in Northern Germany. |
| BR Pfälzerwald | Germany's largest connected forest area in a range of low mountains. |
| Oberbayerisches Tertiärhügelland | The Upper Bavarian Tertiary Uplands are a part of the Southern German Molasse Basin. |
| Donau | Second largest river in Europe. |
Sampling period
1985 - 2010
Extended information
Links to external information and legislation
- STARS substance database - Arsenic: environmental behaviour, ecotoxicology, toxicology (German)
- GSBL Joint Substance Database Federation/Länder - Arsenic: properties of environmental concern
- PRTR Pollutant Release and Transfer Register - Arsenic: sources and quantities of emissions (German)
- Reference values for arsenic (As), antimony (Sb) and metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, Ni, Tl, U, Pt) in blood or urine
- Substance Monograph: Arsenic - reference values in urine. Announcement by the German Federal Environmental Agency
- Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy
- Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 relating to arsenic, cadmium, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air
- Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.
- VwVwS - Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschrift zur Änderung der Verwaltungsvorschrift wassergefährdende Stoffe vom 27. Juli 2005
- IPCS International Programme on Chemical Safety - Arsenic and compounds
- ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - Arsenic
- U.S. EPA - Arsenic
- National Pollutant Inventory (Australia) - Arsenic & compounds: Overview
- PAN Pesticides Database - Arsenic - toxicity, ecological toxicity and regulatory information
Literature
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Bewertungsmaßstäbe für Arsen in Böden, Grund- und Trinkwasser
Schuhmacher-Wolz U., Schneider K., Klein D.
Umweltbundesamt Forschungsbericht 206 61 201, 2007
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