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Articles on Arsenic

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Activists in Newark, N.J., offer tours that teach visitors about the city’s legacy of industrial pollution and environmental racism. Charles Rotkin/Corbis via Getty Images

The importance of shining a light on hidden toxic histories

Societies celebrate heroes and commemorate tragedies. But why is there so little public acknowledgment of environmental disasters?
One symptom of arsenic poisoning is the growth of plaques on the skin called arsenical keratosis. Anita Ghosh/REACH via Flickr

Arsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer

Millions of people worldwide are exposed via soil and water to arsenic, whether naturally occurring or related to pollution. Chronic exposure is linked to the formation of cancer stem cells.
Researchers collect samples from the abandoned tailings that flow into Long Lake, near Sudbury, Ont. John Gunn

Cleaning up abandoned mines means we all pay the price

Bankrupt oil and gas companies must clean up old wells, yet taxpayers are still stuck with the bill for abandoned mines.
Snowshoe hares near the now closed Giant Mine outside of Yellowknife, N.W.T show signs of arsenic contamination. (Denali NPS/flickr)

Toxic leftovers from Giant Mine found in snowshoe hares

Historical gold mining at the Giant Mine near Yellowknife, N.W.T. released toxic arsenic into the environment. Snowshoe hares are showing signs of poisoning.
Despite the noble intentions behind charity wells, they may not be the best thing. Franco Volpato/Shutterstock

Africa’s aquifers aren’t being protected as they should

The digging of wells in Africa has often been thought of as the solution to helping rural women walking to get water, but they may cause more harm than good.
Mount Isa exceeded the national one-hour standard for sulfur dioxide emissions 49 times in 2012. Zurbagan/Shutterstock

Reducing the harms of toxic air in mining and smelting communities

Children in the mining towns of Mount Isa in Queensland and Port Pirie in South Australia are exposed to harmful levels of pollutants that increase their risk of learning and developmental disorders, and…

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