From:
Carol Greenwood
Date:
Aug 24 23:10 UTC
Short link
I know a lot of you have concern about the effects of high levels of
arsenic in soil, particularly west of 31st Ave.
This article was just sent out on a listserv I participate in. I think
you will find it interesting. Feel free to
circulate to other interested people.
Carol Greenwood
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Arsenic, a naturally occurring poison and carcinogen
found in
ground water, is strongly linked to adult-onset diabetes, U.S.
researchers said on Tuesday.
Odorless, tasteless, colorless and easily soluble in water or wine,
arsenic has long been a
feared poison. A heavy dose is detectable in a corpse, but researchers
say small amounts
of arsenic may sicken people gradually.
Dr. Ana Navas-Acien and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore found a
"relatively strong" association between commonly found levels of arsenic
in urine and type
2 diabetes in a study of American adults.
"It seems there is may be no safe level of arsenic," Navas-Acien said in
a telephone
interview.
"Worldwide it's a huge problem," she said. "As water becomes a scarce
resource, we need
additional sources."
Arsenic raises the risk for cancers of the bladder, lung, kidney, skin
and, possibly, the
prostate, Navas-Acien said.
The 20 percent of nearly 800 study participants who had the most arsenic
in their bodies,
a tolerable 16.5 micrograms per liter of urine, had 3.6 times the risk
of developing late-
onset diabetes than those in the bottom 20 percent, who had 3 micrograms
per liter.
Levels of arsenic were 26 percent higher in people with late-onset, or
type 2, diabetes
than those without the disease, the study found.
The U.S. government sets a limit for drinking water at 10 micrograms of
arsenic per liter,
which is exceeded in the water consumed by 13 million Americans who
mostly live in rural
areas that rely on wells to bring up ground water, the researchers wrote
in the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
Arsenic contaminates drinking water for millions of people in
Bangladesh, parts of Central
Europe, Chile, Argentina and the western United States, where ground
water is the source
of drinking water and the land has higher concentrations of arsenic.
The U.S. Geological Survey has published maps on its Web site showing
levels of arsenic
contamination of ground water across the United States.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080819/hl_nm/diabetes_arsenic_dc_1
Overall, 7.8 percent of Americans are believed to have diabetes,
although some do not
know it. At least 90 percent of cases are the type 2 variety, in which
the body loses its
ability to use insulin properly.
Navas-Acien said arsenic may play a significant role in diabetes
incidence, but it is
difficult to say how much.
Arsenic can accumulate in the body, and can ruin the body's ability to
use insulin and
perform the vital task of converting blood sugar into energy.
Normally, insulin fits into cells via molecular doorways called
receptors, which in turn
signal the cell to move glucose inside, but arsenic enters the cell and
somehow blocks the
activity.
Seafood is another source of arsenic, but the organic form found in
shellfish and some fish
has a carbon molecule attached and poses no risk to health, she said.
It is difficult to discern the difference between the harmful and benign
forms of arsenic,
though recent laboratory tests allow researchers to detect trace amounts
that may pose
risks to health, Navas-Acien said.