 |
|
Geoscientists follow arsenic from chicken feed to streambeds
October 12, 2005Blacksburg, Va. - What happened to the chicken when she crossed the road is less important that what happens to what she eats when it is used as fertilizer.
Organic arsenic is fed to poultry to prevent bacterial infections and improve weight gain. A little bit of arsenic is taken up by the tissue and the majority of it is excreted in urine. Poultry litter - the wood chips, feathers, droppings, and urine from under poultry houses - is rich in nitrogen and phosphorous, so is a logical fertilizer. But what happens to that arsenic?
Virginia Tech geoscientists are determining what happens to such feed additives when they are part of the manure applied to agricultural fields. They will present their research at the Geological Society of America national meeting in Salt Lake City Oct. 16-19.
In research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madeline Schreiber, associate professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech, carried out field and laboratory studies to discover the fate of arsenic fed to poultry. She and her graduate students found that bacteria in the litter and in shallow subsurface soil transform organic arsenic to inorganic arsenic. Organic arsenic is not highly toxic to humans, but inorganic arsenic, with its organic component removed, is toxic.
"We found that organic arsenic is highly soluble in water and is rapidly biotransformed to inorganic arsenic," Schreiber said. Despite laboratory findings that show a strong adsorption of inorganic arsenic to minerals in the soils and aquifer sediments, a surprising finding from water samples from streams receiving runoff is that low concentrations of arsenic are transported to streambeds instead of being retained by the aquifers, Schreiber said. "We think that the arsenic is adsorbed onto nanoscale particles that pass though our filters and through the soil column," said Schreiber. "This suggests that particle transport is an important mechanism in arsenic cycling in these watersheds."
Graduate student Mary Harvey is currently studying the adsorption potential for organic arsenic to iron oxides and clay minerals. Although much of the organic arsenic is biotransformed to inorganic arsenic before it reaches the aquifer, rapid flushing of organic arsenic in to the subsurface during storm events introduces organic arsenic to the subsurface; thus, understanding its adsorption is important.
Schreiber emphasized, "All of the arsenic concentrations we are finding at our field site are below the drinking water standards, even below the new standards of 10 parts per billion, which will come into effect in February 2006."
Schreiber is now collaborating with microbiologist John Stolz of Duquesne University, and expert on bacteria that transform arsenic. Schreiber and Stolz are looking at bacteria present in the litter and soil and the conditions under which biotransformation occurs.
Schreiber will deliver her paper, "Arsenic cycling in agricultural watersheds: The role of particles," at 3:10 p.m. at the Salt Palace Convention Center, room 250 DE. Harvey will present "Adsorption characteristics of roxarsone, an organoarsenic poultry feed additive," following Schreiber's talk. Co-authors with Harvey are Schreiber and Professor Christopher Tadanier, Research Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech
In research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madeline Schreiber, associate professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech, carried out field and laboratory studies to discover the fate of arsenic fed to poultry. She and her graduate students found that bacteria in the litter and in shallow subsurface soil transform organic arsenic to inorganic arsenic. Organic arsenic is not highly toxic to humans, but inorganic arsenic, with its organic component removed, is toxic.
"We found that organic arsenic is highly soluble in water and is rapidly biotransformed to inorganic arsenic," Schreiber said. Despite laboratory findings that show a strong adsorption of inorganic arsenic to minerals in the soils and aquifer sediments, a surprising finding from water samples from streams receiving runoff is that low concentrations of arsenic are transported to streambeds instead of being retained by the aquifers, Schreiber said. "We think that the arsenic is adsorbed onto nanoscale particles that pass though our filters and through the soil column," said Schreiber. "This suggests that particle transport is an important mechanism in arsenic cycling in these watersheds."
Graduate student Mary Harvey is currently studying the adsorption potential for organic arsenic to iron oxides and clay minerals. Although much of the organic arsenic is biotransformed to inorganic arsenic before it reaches the aquifer, rapid flushing of organic arsenic in to the subsurface during storm events introduces organic arsenic to the subsurface; thus, understanding its adsorption is important.
Schreiber emphasized, "All of the arsenic concentrations we are finding at our field site are below the drinking water standards, even below the new standards of 10 parts per billion, which will come into effect in February 2006."
Schreiber is now collaborating with microbiologist John Stolz of Duquesne University, and expert on bacteria that transform arsenic. Schreiber and Stolz are looking at bacteria present in the litter and soil and the conditions under which biotransformation occurs.
Schreiber will deliver her paper, "Arsenic cycling in agricultural watersheds: The role of particles," at 3:10 p.m. at the Salt Palace Convention Center, room 250 DE. Harvey will present "Adsorption characteristics of roxarsone, an organoarsenic poultry feed additive," following Schreiber's talk. Co-authors with Harvey are Schreiber and Professor Christopher Tadanier, Research Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech
Arsenic Current Events and Arsenic News RSSMIT scientists pinpoint origin of dissolved arsenic in Bangladesh drinking water
Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering believe they have pinpointed a pathway by which arsenic may be contaminating the drinking water in Bangladesh, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists, world health agencies and the Bangladeshi government for nearly 30 years.
Answering that age-old lament: Where does all this dust come from?
Where does it come from? Scientists in Arizona are reporting a surprising answer to that question, which has puzzled and perplexed generations of men and women confronted with layers of dust on furniture and floors.
Geologists studying groundwater arsenic levels in India empower Bengali women, children
A Kansas State University geologist and graduate student are finding that the most important tools in their fieldwork on groundwater arsenic pollution are women and children armed with pamphlets and testing kits.
New X-ray technique illuminates reactivity of environmental contaminants
A chemical reaction can occur in the blink of an eye.
Water quality in orbit
Space is not a fun place to get a stomach bug. To ensure drinking water is adequately disinfected, University of Utah chemists developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months of tests aboard the International Space Station.
People vary widely in ability to eliminate arsenic from the body
Large variations exist in peoples' ability to eliminate arsenic from the body, according to a new study that questions existing standards for evaluating the human health risks from the potentially toxic substance.
Finding key to cancer drug Gleevec's limitations
University of Michigan researchers have developed an animal model that provides strong evidence why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends.
Silicon with afterburners: Process developed at Rice could be boon to electronics manufacturer
Scientists at Rice University and North Carolina State University have found a method of attaching molecules to semiconducting silicon that may help manufacturers reach beyond the current limits of Moore's Law as they make microprocessors both smaller and more powerful.
Superconductivity: Which one of these is not like the other?
Superconductivity appears to rely on very different mechanisms in two varieties of iron-based superconductors.
Prairie dogs: influencing the accumulation of metals in plants?
Prairie dogs may seem like harmless little creatures, but they can inflict serious injury on plants simply by snacking on them. Plants cannot flee from their furry predators, so how do they avoid becoming a prairie dog's lunch?
More Arsenic Current Events and Arsenic News Articles
 |
Arsenic: Environmental Chemistry, Health Threats and Waste Treatment by Kevin Henke (Author) This book presents an overview of the chemistry, geology, toxicology and environmental impacts of arsenic, presenting information on relatively common arsenic minerals and their key properties. In addition, it includes discussions on the environmental impacts of the release of arsenic from mining and coal combustion. Although the environmental regulations of different nations vary and change over time, prominent International, North American, and European guidelines and regulations on arsenic will be reviewed. Includes information on recent environmental catastrophes (e.g. Bangladesh and China) A thorough discussion of the arsenic cycle, including the cosmological origin of arsenic Includes Appendices providing extensive glossary and measurement... |
 |
Environmental Chemistry of Arsenic (Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment) by William T. Frankenberger Jr (Editor) Details the latest advances in the prevention and control of arsenic and arsenic compounds in the air, soil, and water and offers the most recent and analytical methods for the detection and study of arsenic in the environment and human body. |
 |
Arsenic and Old Lace Starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton Directed By: Frank Capra Also With: Sol Polito (Cinematographer), Frank Capra (Producer), Daniel Mandell (Editor), Jack L. Warner (Producer), Joseph Kesselring (Writer), Julius J. Epstein (Writer), Philip G. Epstein (Writer) You'll die laughing! Frank Capra directs Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre and stellar cast in the hit Broadway farce about a nutcase family with well-intentioned homicidal tendencies. |
 |
Arsenic (The Elements) by Chris Cooper (Author) |
|
Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring (Author) | |
 |
Boiron - Natrum Arsenic.30c, 75 pellets by Boiron |
 |
Arsenic and Old Lace: A Play in Three Acts (Dramatists Play Service) by Joseph Kesselring (Author) Arsenic and Old Lace: A Play in Three Acts (Dramatists Play Service) |
 |
Preservation of Arsenic Species (Awwarf Report) by Gautam Samanta (Compiler), Dennis A Clifford (Compiler) In order to establish effective treatment removal strategies for arsenic, it is important to know the actual concentrations of As(III) and As(V) in drinking waters. Due to its anionic character, As(V) can be removed more easily than As(III). The distribution of As(III) and As(V) species depends greatly on the abundance of redox-active solids, especially organic carbon, the activity of microorganisms, and the extent of diffusion of O2 from the atmosphere. In strongly reducing aquifers, As(III) is the dominant species based on the thermodynamic considerations, whereas As(V) is the more stable oxidation state under oxic conditions or in oxygenated waters. Based on extensive experimental results in Fe(II)-contaminated challenge water, it was found that EDTA-HAc could be used to preserve the... |
 |
Arsenic and Old Lace Starring: Cary Grant, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre Directed By: Frank Capra Also With: Frank Capra (Producer), Jack L. Warner (Producer) |
![Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5184MX4WBML._SL160_.jpg) |
Arsenic and Old Lace [VHS] Starring: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton Directed By: Frank Capra Also With: Sol Polito (Cinematographer), Frank Capra (Producer), Daniel Mandell (Editor), Jack L. Warner (Producer), Joseph Kesselring (Writer), Julius J. Epstein (Writer), Philip G. Epstein (Writer) Frank Capra made this film in 1941 before he went off to make films for America's war effort, but it wasn't released until 1944. Adapted from the hit play by Joseph Kesselring, this frantic black comedy shows Capra at his best as a master of mood and timing. Actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair reprise their Broadway performances as two gentle old ladies who poison men with elderberry wine to put them out of their misery. Cary Grant plays one nephew, a normal guy who just gets wind of their little hobby and tries to get them to stop, while Raymond Massey plays another, a villain just escaped from jail. Capra encourages the cast, especially Grant, to give a somewhat more outsized performance than one might expect. But made during the war years as it was, this overstated comic approach... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |