Why is arsenic found in fish?

The study compared arsenic levels found in about 850 people's toenails (over time, arsenic concentrates in the keratin your body uses to create nails) with food ... Dark-meat fish Inorganic forms of arsenic were 7. read more

Arsenic is a natural component of ocean water, present in concentrations of less than one part per billion. For billions of years arsenic has been flowing in from rivers, dust, and volcanic ash, but the ocean has its own way of regulating arsenic, just as it does salt. read more

Inorganic arsenic is found in industry, in copper-chromate-arsenate treated lumber, and in private well water in some parts of the country. Organic arsenic is found in many foods and particularly in some shellfish. The organic forms and amounts of arsenic found in seafood are generally considered to be nontoxic. read more

Seaweed absorbs arsenic and uses it to build fats and sugars (arsonolipids and arsenosugars). Fish eat seaweed, or they eat other fish and sea creatures that eat seaweed. Fortunately, fish convert most of it into forms that are relatively harmless. Most of it gets converted to arsenobetaine, which is about as toxic as table salt. read more

Fish and shellfish contain the highest concentrations of arsenic, but the proportion of inorganic arsenic in fish is very low, below 1%. In some areas, where levels of arsenic in groundwater are high, drinking water may be the main source of intake. In drinking water, arsenic is present in the more toxic, inorganic form. read more

Inorganic arsenic is found in industry, in copper chromated arsenate treated lumber, and in private well water in some parts of the country. Organic arsenic is found in many foods and particularly in some shellfish. The organic forms and amounts of arsenic found in seafood are generally considered to be nontoxic. read more