looking at doing an arsenic site clean up wondering what arsenic might do to heavy equipment will it effect steel, rubber, bronze, chrome, electrical. if so how would it effect them any advice welcome i don't want to send my machines into a death trap. THANKS
Arsenic has been attributed to be the 'Kings of Poisons' and its high level toxicity makes it a potent wood preservative against insects, bacteria and fungi. For the same reason it is also used in insecticides, poison, weed killers, etc.
arsenic is extremely toxic. Produced as a byproduct of industrial production such as copper smelting, it can cause both acute and long-term health effects.
Acute (short-term) arsenic poisoning may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, loss of appetite, shaking, cough and headache. Chronic (long-term) exposure may lead to a variety of symptoms including skin pigmentation, numbness, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and vascular disease. Arsenic is also known to cause a variety of cancers including skin cancer (non-melanoma type), kidney, bladder, lung, prostate and liver cancer.
Arsenic clean-up levels in soils, which are measured in ppm (parts-per-million), vary according to the type of contaminated property. The strictest clean-up standard (State of Washington) is known as "Method A." The Method A clean-up level for arsenic is:
Residential: 20 ppm
Industrial: 200 ppm
drinking water standards for arsenic are set at 10 parts per billion (ppb). If your arsenic level is more than 10 ppb, stop using your water for drinking and food preparation
i wouldn't worry about the machinery nearly as much as my health. have been in the remediation business a long time i can tell you arsenic is nasty stuff . use proper PPE and lots of common sense. are you going to stabilize it first or is it low enough levels that it can be hauled to a non-haz landfill?