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We investigated in total 80 wine samples of different types and seven grape juice and 23 beer samples purchased from markets in Central Europe in order to understand the arsenic (As) speciation and help assess the potential As toxicity via intake of alcoholic beverages. Generally, total As concentrations in most samples investigated were below the drinking water limit 10 µg l(-1) published by the World Health Organization (WHO); ranging from 0.46 to 21.0 µg l(-1) As in red and white wines and from 0.75 to 13.4 µg l(-1) As in beers. In addition, concentrations of total As in rice wine and in rice beer were 0.63-6.07 and 3.69-8.23 µg l(-1) As, respectively. The total As concentrations in ice wine ranged from 7.94 to 18.8 µg l(-1) As, significantly higher than in white and red wine. Arsenite predominated as the As species in most of the wine samples, whereas arsenate was the dominant species in rice wine, beer and rice beer. Methyl As components were usually minor components in all wine and beer samples. Monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid and two additional unknown As species were frequently found in grape juice, late harvest and ice wine with higher sweetness. After air exposure, arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid were stable at 4°C for months, probably due to the acidic conditions of wine and beer samples. The presence of sulfite had little influence on As speciation in wine. Despite the predominance of more toxic arsenite and arsenate in wine and beer, the estimated weekly exposure to As (via consumption of beer, wine and rice wine) is low. The As intake per capita is 6.81 µg from beer, <1.93 µg from wine and 0.88 µg from rice wine, estimated using the median of total As concentration multiplied by the average consumption per capita of the corresponding beverage.

Focuses on a study which characterized the redistribution of arsenic precipitates in silicon δ-doped gallium arsenide through x-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. Experimental details; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Abstract: Wetland soils play a key role for the transformation of heavy metals in forested watersheds, influencing their mobility, and ecotoxicity. Our goal was to investigate the mechanisms of release from solid to solution phase, the mobility, and the transformation of arsenic species in a fen soil. In methanol–water extracts, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, trimethylarsine oxide, arsenobetaine, and two unknown organic arsenic species were found with concentrations up to 14ng Asg−1 at the surface horizon. Arsenate is the dominant species at the 0–30cm depth, whereas arsenite predominated at the 30–70cm depth. Only up to 2.2% of total arsenic in fen was extractable with methanol–water. In porewaters, depth gradient spatial variation of arsenic species, pH, redox potentials, and the other chemical parameters along the profile was observed in June together with high proportion of organic arsenic species (up to 1.2μg AsL−1, 70% of total arsenic). Tetramethylarsonium ion and an unknown organic arsenic species were additionally detected in porewaters at deeper horizons. In comparison, the arsenic speciation in porewaters in April was homogeneous with depth and no organic arsenic species were found. Thus, the occurrence of microbial methylation of arsenic in fen was demonstrated for the first time. The 10 times elevated total arsenic concentrations in porewaters in June compared to April were accompanied by elevated concentrations of total iron, lower concentrations of sulfate and the presence of ammonium and phosphate. The low proportion of methanol–water extractable total arsenic suggests a generally low mobility of arsenic in fen soils. The release of arsenic from solid to solution phases in fen is dominantly controlled by dissolution of iron oxides, redox transformation, and methylation of arsenic, driven by microbial activity in the growing season. As a result, increased concentrations of total arsenic and potentially toxic arsenic species in fen porewaters were found in the growing season, suggesting an enhancing risk of arsenic transport of ground- and surface-waters under these conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The precipitation of arsenic in annealed Be delta-doped GaAs grown by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy has been studied using transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the planes doped with [Be] = 1.0 10[sup 14] cm[sup -2] always accumulate As precipitates, while the planes doped with [Be] = 1 × 10[sup 13] cm[sup -2] tend to deplete As precipitates. In contrast, the planes doped with [Be] = 3 and 2 × 10[sup 13] cm[sup -2] exhibit a weak accumulation property when annealed at 700 °C, but a depletion property when annealed 800 °C. The existence of twins and/or precipitates around the [Be]= 1.0 × 10[sup 14] cm[sup -2] doped planes found in the as-grown sample suggests a strain-induced mechanism to account for the As precipitates accumulation on these planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precipitation of arsenic in superlattice structures of alternately undoped and [Be]=2.4×10[sup 19] cm[sup -3] doped GaAs grown at low temperatures has been studied using transmission electron microscopy. Novel precipitate microstructures were observed in annealed samples, including preferential accumulation of precipitates toward each interface of Be-doped GaAs and the following grown undoped GaAs. Specifically, after 800 °C annealing, the precipitates are totally confined in Be-doped regions, forming two-dimensional dot arrays near the aforementioned interfaces. Data are also presented to show that the heavily Be-doped GaAs has a smaller lattice constant than the undoped GaAs. A strain-induced mechanism was proposed to account for the segregation of As clusters. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]