Arsenic can be fatal after 20 years

The consequences of exposure to arsenic can occur after many years. Chilean researchers claim that the risk of lung and bladder cancer can occur 10 to 20 years after drinking a lot of arsenic-contaminated water.

Hands of arsenic-infected people (Photo: HTV)

In 1980, the International Center for Cancer Research (IARC) of Lyon's World Health Organization announced it as a carcinogenic agent. Whether originated from anywhere, arsenic is deadly.

From 1998 to 2000, it caused more than 250,000 deaths in Bangladesh. In the US, China and India, many arsenic poisoning cases have been recorded.

Professor Guillermo Marshall and colleagues at the University of Santiago (Chile), analyzed the cancer mortality rate in the two regions of the country from 1950 to 2000. In the first area, drinking water was The ratio of arsenic is high, and in the other area, the water source is not contaminated.

Researchers noted that the number of deaths from bladder cancer and lung cancer began to increase 10 years after residents were exposed to arsenic and increased after 20 years. In the area of ​​pollution, the death rate from cancer is 3 times higher than the non-polluted area.

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