Arsenic Contamination in Food, Water

NEW ORLEANSArsenic occurs naturally in elevated concentrations in the soil in certain areas of the world and sometimes leaches into drinking water supplies and food. Arsenic has made headlines over the past few years after reports of its presence in apple juice and rice, as well as groundwater in Bangladesh and Chile, as was the subject of a recent symposium held during the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

The goal of the Arsenic Contamination in Food and Water" symposium was to bring together experts on many aspects of arsenic, including general insights about arsenic contamination in food and water, regulatory issues, ways to analyze the element and ways to clean up contamination.

Topics included Poisoner's cupboard: The long (and sometimes homicidal) history of arsenic in everyday life"; Arsenic in rice and rice products"; Remediation of arsenic contamination of groundwater in Asia and USA"; Development of a method for assessing perinatal exposures to heavy metals using residual dried blood spots from newborn screening programs"; Pick your poison? Arsenic in harvested country foods, edible mushrooms and wine from Canada" and Low, slow and Next Gen impact: Arsenic, human health and cancer risks."