Arsenic

Arsenic is a brittle steel-gray metalloid element of atomic number 33. Its symbol is As. It forms a number of poisonous compounds. It is widely distributed throughout the earth’s crust, and is found in groundwater supplied in a number of countries. It naturally occurs in orpiment, realgar, and several other minerals, and rarely as a free element. It is used in semiconductors and some specialized alloys, and its toxic compounds in wood preservation.

Long-term human exposure, through drinking of contaminated water, is an important public health problem in some regions and countries, and is associated with cancer of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. Acute arsenic poisoning produces vomiting, oesophageal and abdominal pain, and bloody “rice water” diarrhoea.

Arsenic compounds and their poisonous properties have been known since ancient days, but the metallic form could be isolated in the Middle Ages.

Anything of or relating to arsenic is also called by this name, and in chemistry it denotes the combining power of arsenic with a valence of five, ie of arsenic (V).

Nearby pages
Arsenic acid, Arsenide, Arsenopyrite, Arsh, Arsh Ramayan, Arshabh