8/8/2019 Effects of Arsenic

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Effects of Arsenic

Battery manufacturers now a days use arsenic, selenium, cadmium and tin as doping agent

to reduce the content of antimony and calcium. Lead antimony battery can be dip cycled

more than lead calcium battery. Lead calcium batteries have lower self discharge rate in

comparison with lead antimony cell. Lead calcium cell may increase in length and width dueto oxidation at grain boundaries. This oxidation is usually caused by long term overcharging.

Grid may increase in size sufficiently to damage the container. Now a days the batteries

which are being used in the home wherever the power cuts are regular phenomena, battery

manufacturers use the use arsenic as doping agent to improve the performance of battery

which are required to perform the deep discharge more number of times and each time

battery have to charge from deep discharge stage to its normal state and it is also a

possibility of battery getting over charged. Therefore it is now a days it is a normal practice

to use arsenic for the grid structure for the cell of batteries.

Whenever battery containing arsenic and antimony is overcharged then the poisonous gasarsine (AsH) and stibine (SbH) are produced which are harmful for health. When these

harmful gases mix-up with the drinking water it causes hazard to health.

Arsine is a colourless, non-irritating gas with a mild garlic-like odour. It is formed when

arsenic or arsenic-containing compounds react with water. Arsine is extremely flammable

and is soluble in water. Other names for arsine include arsenic hydride or arsenic trihydride.

Stibine is also a colourless gas with a disagreeable odour that resembles rotten eggs. It is

produced when antimony or antimony-containing compounds react with an water. Other

names for stibine include antimony hydride or antimony trihydride.

When breathed in, arsine and stibine enter the blood via the lungs, where they damage red

blood cells. Symptoms may be delayed for several hours. Short term exposure to low to

moderate levels may cause weakness, headache, drowsiness, sickness, abdominal pain,

shortness of breath, yellow skin and eyes and red urine. These are the symptoms of jaundice

disease. A lot of cases have been observed in the Rural and Urban areas where peoples kee p

the battery in the same room where they sleep and study. Due to their ignorance they invite

such lethal diseases.

Exposure to a high concentration of arsine may cause fitting loss of consciousness and may

even death. Symptoms of poisoning usually develop within 1 24 hours following the

exposure to arsine. Severely exposed individuals who survive the initial exposure may

experience long term health effects including kidney damage, memory loss, confusion, and

numbness and pain in the extremities.