ABSTRACT
Significant As exposure mostly occurs through the drinking of As-contaminated water and food crops grown, irrigated and cooked with Ascontaminated water. However, the severity of this pathway has been significantly reduced due community education and use of alternate water supplies. The adverse health effects of As depend strongly on dose, duration of exposure, and the nutritional status of the exposed population. The clinical appearances of As toxicity are many, but the most commonly observed symptoms in people who suffer from chronic As poisoning are the visible skin discolouration and roughening, which is known as arsenicosis. Arsenicosis in West Bengal and Bangladesh was first detected by K.C. Saha in 1983 and 1984, respectively from the dermatology out-patient department of the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM), India (Saha 2003). The main dermatological symptoms observed in As affected people are melanosis (change of pigmentation) and keratosis (rough, dry, papular skin lesions). Chronic As exposure may also cause reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatic, hematological, and diabetic effects in humans (IPCS 2001). Intake of inorganic As is recognized as a cause of skin, bladder, liver and lung cancer (IPCS 2001; IARC 2004). A study con-
ducted by World Bank found that about 700,000 people had thus far been affected by As-related diseases in South and East Asia (World Bank Policy Report 2005).
