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Article: Arsenic-Induced Skin Lesions among Atacameno People in Northern Chile Despite Good Nutrition and Centuries of Exposure.
- Article from:
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Article date:
- July 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It has been suggested that the indigenous Atacameno people in Northern Chile might be protected from the health effects of arsenic in drinking water because of many centuries of exposure. Here we report on the first intensive investigation of arsenic-induced skin lesions in this population. We selected 11 families (44 participants) from the village of Chiu Chiu, which is supplied with water containing between 750 and 800 [micro]g/L inorganic arsenic. For comparison, 8 families (31 participants) were also selected from a village where the water contains approximately 10 [micro]g/L inorganic arsenic. After being transported to the nearest city for blind assessment, ...