Re: inorganic vs organic arsenic

**A*@aol.com**

In Re arsenic: organic or not.

I have only the first year of organic chemistry under my mental belt, but I 
have read that mercury is much less likely to be absorbed when it is in 
elemental state than when it is attached to a methyl group.  I don't know how 
methylation occurs in natural environments, but it is when it becomes methylated that 
is can cause problems such as Minamata disease.  I suspect that there might 
be similar things that happen with Arsenic.  The fairly short term effects of 
Arsenic are pretty well known, but if as USEPA thinks Arsenic exposure in 
childhood can cause cancer then it will take a while to find out. 
In casual conversation chemists sometimes talk of organic elements when they 
mean that the element has been attached to a molecule containing carbon.  When 
I started learning organic chemistry it was stressed that a molecule could 
only be called organic if it contained Carbon.  They briefly mentioned that 
organic was not a synonym for harmless, wholesome, beneficial, and without any 
undesirable side effects.  That meant that cyanide was organic and magnesium 
sulfate was not.

I promise not to rant about this anymore,

Barbara Emeneau
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