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Content: therefore, an objective assessment of the level of arsenic exposure and risk is required. In this report, we review the latest knowledge regarding the effects of arsenic on human health and emphasize the role of arsenic exposure as an environmental health issue in South Korea. PHARMACOKINETICS
Arsenic is absorbed primarily through inhalation or oral consumption and is rarely absorbed through the skin. During oral consumption, the absorption rate of arsenic in the gastrointestinal tract is 90%, which is greater than that of other heavy metals. Absorbed arsenic binds to red blood cells, and deposits in the liver, kidneys, muscle, bone, hair, skin, and nails, but is expelled mainly through the urine. Inorganic arsenic compounds suppress the activities of various enzymes involved in cellular respiration, glutathione metabolism, and DNA synthesis, and may pass through the placenta affecting the development of the fetal nervous system [9]. Arsenic metabolism is a complex process that involves more than five metabolites, and begins with the methylation of inorganic arsenic compounds. In the body, the inorganic arsenic compound pentavalent arsenate is converted into trivalent arsenite. The majority of trivalent arsenite is metabolized into MMA, and then into DMA, before being excreted in the urine. The major metabolic pathway of arsenic is methylation.