ASSESSMENT OF EXPOSURE TO INORGANIC ARSENIC, A HUMAN CARCINOGEN, DUE TO THE CONSUMPTION OF SEAFOOD

To assess whether regular consumption of seafood, particularly fish an d shellfish, by humans may lead to an overexposure to inorganic arseni c, a well-established human carcinogen, the urinary excretion of the r elevant As metabolites (As-i, inorganic form; MMA, monomethylarsonic a cid; DMA, dimethylarsinic acid) was compared in groups of subjects wit h different seafood consumption habits and in volunteers after ingesti on of a known amount of seafood arsenicals. Studies of Italian cohorts , involving five groups of +/-30 subjects with different seafood consu mption habits, and balance studies in Belgian volunteers failed to sho w a biologically significant absorption of inorganic arsenic either pr esent as such in the food or formed from organoarsenicals during cooki ng or digestion. The results suggest that the digestion of some seafoo d, especially mussels, may increase the urinary excretion of the dimet hylated arsenic metabolite. Therefore, the biological monitoring of ex posure to inorganic arsenic in an industrial context should mainly rel y upon specific measurement of the unmetabolized form when recent inge stion of seafood cannot be excluded.