Arsenicosis history and research progress in Mainland China

This article provides the history of arsenicosis in Mainland China and the research situation in the recent 10 years. The first large area of arsenicosis caused by high levels of arsenic in drinking water in Mainland China was discovered in Kuitun, Xinjiang Province, in 1983. The government attached great importance to arsenicosis and finally regarded it as the epidemic disease throughout the nation in 1994. Until 2006, the survey areas of wells with arsenic concentration greater than 50 microg/L in drinking water have involved 16 provinces in Mainland China. The molecular epidemiological studies on relationship between arsenic metabolism and manifestations of arsenicosis caused by chronic exposure to high level of arsenic in drinking water and the studies on arsenic exposure and related health effects in different arsenic exposure populations are summarized in this review.