Arsenicosis is a chronic illness resulting from drinking water with high levels of arsenic over a long period of time (such as from 5 to 20 years). It is also known as arsenic poisoning. The WHO recommends a limit of 0.01 mg/l of arsenic in drinking water.
It results in various health effects including skin problems, skin cancer, cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet, and possibly also diabetes, high blood pressure and reproductive disorders.
Natural arsenic contamination is a cause for concern in many countries of the world including Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Thailand, and US. Because of the delayed health effects, poor reporting, and low levels of awareness in some communities, the extent of the adverse health problems caused by arsenic in drinking water is unclear and not well documented.
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