Environmental variation of arsenic levels in human blood determined by neutron activation analysis

Arsenic levels in blood plasma and red cells from patients with Blackfoot disease, a peripheral arteriosclerosis endemic to a small area in Taiwan, were studied in relation to healthy individuals from the same and other parts of Taiwan and compared with arsenic levels in a control group from Denmark.

Arsenic was determined by neutron activation analysis with radiochemical separation and re-irradiation yield determination. The precision and accuracy of the results have been carefully evaluated in order to permit quantitative tests for the significance of the observed differences. The results from Taiwan followed a logarithmic normal distribution, and no difference was found between Blackfoot patients and their healthy family members.

However, their overall arsenic levels were higher than the Taiwan average, presumably because of arsenic in their drinking water. Much lower levels were found in Denmark, which geochemically belongs to a soil zone with less arsenic than Taiwan.