Optimisation and safety improvements of the spectrophotometric arsenic measurement

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is a chemical element that is widely distributed in the environment. The high content of As in groundwater represents a major public health problem in many regions of the world. According to the World Health Organization, it is one of the tenth chemicals of major public health concern. The consumption of As for long periods of time has been associated with a disease known as Chronic Endemic Regional Hydroarsenicism (CERHA), a serious condition of long evolution that is characterised by skin lesions and cancerous and non-cancerous alterations. Consequently, As measurement is mandatory; therefore in this work is presented the development of a low-cost, not fragile equipment for the spectrophotometric measurement of As that has the advantage of less manipulation of toxic reagents. The analysis of 42 calibration curves was performed indicating an accuracy of 90.38%. The technique has proven to be effective in determining As in water, at low cost, accessible and reliable, allowing the measurement of a large number of samples. Also, great advantages were performed regarding biosecurity.