Project Summary (1995-2000)

A major goal of this project is to assess the amount of arsenic in the body of humans. Arsenic compounds are known to cause cancer in humans. Human exposure to these compounds are, for example, via smelter emission, fossil fuel combustion and water from deep wells. Researchers are investigating the mechanisms by which arsenic compounds are detoxified by the human body that includes the binding of arsenic compounds to proteins. Subjects will be given a chelating agent that will mobilize arsenic from their tissues and result in an increased urinary excretion of arsenic. This will give a more realistic estimate of the amount of arsenic present in the body.