Difference between revisions of "Arsenic"

Latest revision as of 13:40, 3 November 2023

Description

A grayish-white nonmetallic element. Arsenic occurs naturally in its elemental form as well as in the minerals arsenopyrite, Realgar, and Orpiment. The abundance of arsenic in the earth's crust is 1.8 ppm. It is found as a trace mineral in meteorites. Arsenic was known as a poison in antiquity and the elemental form was isolated as early as 1250 CE by Albertus Magnus, a German alchemist. Elemental arsenic has three allotropic forms: alpha (gray), beta (black) and an unstable yellow form. When heated, arsenic forms Arsenic trioxide, a white, poisonous gas. Arsenic and its salts are used as wood preservatives, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides. Arsenic is used as a scavenger in the manufacture of Glass to eliminate any green color resulting from Iron impurities. Arsenic was also used as a Copper alloy predating the use of tin bronzes (Scott, 1991). The arsenic content in ancient and modern coppers alloys ranges from 1 - 8%.

Arsenic is on the ILFI Red list of building materials.

Synonyms and Related Terms

As; grey arsenic; Arseen (Ned.); Arsen (Deut.); arsenikon (Gr.); arsenico (It.); arsênic (Port.); arsénico (Esp.); arsenik (Sven.)

Personal Risks

Highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation.
Carcinogen and mutagen.
Salts are highly toxic.
International Chemical Safety Card

Physical and Chemical Properties

Flame color is light blue; produces a white poisonous smoke that smells like garlic.
Insoluble in water and alkalis. Attacked by oxidizing acids.
Elemental arsenic has a white streak, metallic luster and uneven fracture.

Composition	As (atomic no. 33)
CAS	7440-38-2
Mohs Hardness	3.5
Melting Point	818 C (under pressure)
Density	5.778 g/ml
Molecular Weight	atomic wt = 74.9216
Boiling Point	615 C (sublimes)

Resources and Citations

D.Scott, Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and Historic Metals, Getty Conservation Institute, 1991.
L. Goldberg, A History Of Pest Control Measures In The Anthropology Collections, National Museum Of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, JAIC (35):23-43, 1996
Mineralogy Database: Arsenic
Web Elements: Website
G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p.
Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976
Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 832
Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "arsenic" Encyclopædia Britannica [Accessed December 11, 2001 (color photo)
Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 81 (36) , Sept. 8, 2003
C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979
Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 == Description ==
-A grayish-white nonmetallic element. Arsenic occurs naturally in its elemental form as well as in the minerals arsenopyrite, [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=realgar realgar], and [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=orpiment orpiment]. The abundance of arsenic in the earth's crust is 1.8 ppm. It is found as a trace mineral in meteorites. Arsenic was known as a poison in antiquity and the elemental form was isolated as early as 1250 CE by Albertus Magnus, a German alchemist. Elemental arsenic has three allotropic forms: alpha (gray), beta (black) and an unstable yellow form. When heated, arsenic forms [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=arsenic trioxide arsenic trioxide], a white, poisonous gas. Arsenic and its salts are used as [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=wood preservative wood preservatives], [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=fungicide fungicides], [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=herbicide herbicides], and [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=pesticide pesticides]. Arsenic is used as a scavenger in the manufacture of [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=glass glass] to eliminate any green color resulting from [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=iron iron] impurities. Arsenic was also used as a [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=copper copper] alloy predating the use of tin [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=bronze bronzes] (Scott, 1991). The arsenic content in ancient and modern coppers alloys ranges from 1 - 8%.
+A grayish-white nonmetallic element. Arsenic occurs naturally in its elemental form as well as in the minerals arsenopyrite, [[realgar|realgar]], and [[orpiment|orpiment]]. The abundance of arsenic in the earth's crust is 1.8 ppm. It is found as a trace mineral in meteorites. Arsenic was known as a poison in antiquity and the elemental form was isolated as early as 1250 CE by Albertus Magnus, a German alchemist. Elemental arsenic has three allotropic forms: alpha (gray), beta (black) and an unstable yellow form. When heated, arsenic forms [[arsenic%20trioxide|arsenic trioxide]], a white, poisonous gas. Arsenic and its salts are used as [[wood%20preservative|wood preservatives]], [[fungicide|fungicides]], [[herbicide|herbicides]], and [[pesticide|pesticides]]. Arsenic is used as a scavenger in the manufacture of [[glass|glass]] to eliminate any green color resulting from [[iron|iron]] impurities. Arsenic was also used as a [[copper|copper]] alloy predating the use of tin [[bronze|bronzes]] (Scott, 1991). The arsenic content in ancient and modern coppers alloys ranges from 1 - 8%.
+Arsenic is on the ILFI [[Red list of Materials|Red list]] of building materials.
 == Synonyms and Related Terms ==
-As; grey arsenic; Arseen (Ned.); Arsen (Deut.); arsenikon (Gr.); arsenico (It.); arsnic (Port.); arsnico (Esp.); arsenik (Sven.)
+As; grey arsenic; Arseen (Ned.); Arsen (Deut.); arsenikon (Gr.); arsenico (It.); arsênic (Port.); arsénico (Esp.); arsenik (Sven.)
-== Other Properties ==
+== Personal Risks ==
+* Highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation.
+* Carcinogen and mutagen.
+* Salts are highly toxic.
+* [http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0013.html International Chemical Safety Card]
-Flame color is light blue; produces a white poisonous smoke that smells like garlic.
+== Physical and Chemical Properties ==
-Insoluble in water and alkalis.  Attacked by oxidizing acids.
+* Flame color is light blue; produces a white poisonous smoke that smells like garlic.
+* Insoluble in water and alkalis.  Attacked by oxidizing acids.
-Elemental arsenic has a white streak, metallic luster and uneven fracture.
+* Elemental arsenic has a white streak, metallic luster and uneven fracture.
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 28: / Line 33: @@
 |-
 ! scope="row"| Melting Point
-| 818 (under pressure)
+| 818 C (under pressure)
 |-
 ! scope="row"| Density
-| 5.778
+| 5.778 g/ml
 |-
 ! scope="row"| Molecular Weight
@@ Line 37: / Line 42: @@
 |-
 ! scope="row"| Boiling Point
-| 615 (sublimes)
+| 615 C (sublimes)
 |}
-== Hazards and Safety ==
+== Resources and Citations ==
-Highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation. Carcinogen and mutagen.
-Salts are highly toxic.
-[http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0013.html International Chemical Safety Card]
-== Additional Information ==
-D.Scott, ''Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and Historic Metals'', Getty Conservation Institute, 1991.  L. Goldberg, A History Of Pest Control Measures In The Anthropology Collections, National Museum Of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, ''JAIC'' (35):23-43, 1996  Mineralogy Database: [http://www.webmineral.com/data/Arsenic.shtml Arsenic]  Web Elements: [http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/As/key.html Website]
-== Authority ==
-* G.S.Brady, G.S.Brady, ''Materials Handbook'', McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971  Comment: p.
-* Richard S. Lewis, Richard S. Lewis, ''Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary'', Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
+* D.Scott, ''Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and Historic Metals'', Getty Conservation Institute, 1991.
+* L. Goldberg, A History Of Pest Control Measures In The Anthropology Collections, National Museum Of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, ''JAIC'' (35):23-43, 1996
+* Mineralogy Database: [http://www.webmineral.com/data/Arsenic.shtml Arsenic]
+* Web Elements: [http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/As/key.html Website]
+* G.S.Brady, ''Materials Handbook'', McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971  Comment: p.
+* Richard S. Lewis, ''Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary'', Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
 * ''Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia'', Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976
+* Random House, ''Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language'', Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
-* Random House, Random House, ''Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language'', Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
 * ''The Merck Index'', Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983  Comment: entry 832
+* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: "arsenic" Encyclopædia Britannica [Accessed December 11, 2001 (color photo)
-* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: "arsenic" Encyclopdia Britannica [Accessed December 11, 2001 (color photo)
 * ''Chemical & Engineering News'', American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 81 (36) , Sept. 8, 2003
+* C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, ''Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979
-* C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, ''Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979
+* Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
-* David C. Scott, David C. Scott, ''Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and Historic Metals'', The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 1991
-* Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
 [[Category:Materials database]]