Transfer of arsenic from contaminated dairy cattle drinking water to milk.

A. PÉREZ CARRERA; A. FERNÁNDEZ CIRELLI

Tainán, Taiwán

Congreso; Third International Congress: Arsenic in the Environment “Arsenic in geosphere and human diseases”.; 2010

National Cheng Kung University

Arsenic is a ubiquitous element found in the atmosphere, soils and rocks, natural waters, and organisms. The Chaco pampean plain in Argentina comprises one of the largest areas in the world with high levels of arsenic in groundwater (one million km2). The province of Cordoba, located in the centre of the country, is an important agricultural region highly affected by this contaminant of natural occurrence. In the south east region of this province, studies have been conducted on the biotransference of arsenic from water to the food chain. The aim of the present study was the determination of total arsenic content in livestock drinking water, tissues (kidneys, liver, muscle and udder) and bovine milk from dairy farms of high arsenicgroundwaters, to analyse the relation between arsenic uptake through water and its transfer to the agricultural food chain.